DEFIANCE, Ohio – Prosecutors in northern Ohio say a woman somehow persuaded her 10-year-old stepson to kill his own father in a decade-old killing that had initially been ruled accidental.
Authorities in Defiance County have charged Judith Hawkey with aggravated murder, insurance fraud and child endangering in connection with the 2003 death of Robert Breininger.
Hawkey, of Oakwood, pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday and is being held on a $3 million bond.
Authorities reopened the investigation last year. Defiance County Prosecutor Morris Murray says new evidence led to the charges last week.
Murray says Hawkey abused the boy for at least three years before the shooting.
Hawkey's attorney declined to comment on the charges Tuesday.
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