Sophia Kelly and Logan Hutchings murdered their son, Ocean Wayne Hutchings, authorities said. Hutchings was acquitted in a bench trial, and prosecutors moved to dismiss their case against Kelly. (Illinois State Police)
On the day that a judge acquitted an Illinois father of murdering his infant son, prosecutors filed to dismiss related charges against the mother.
Logan Hutchings, 22, was found not guilty in a Perry County courtroom. His co-defendant, Sophia Kelly, 22, was scheduled for a jury trial to start May 1.
Prosecutor Jennifer Mudge of the Illinois State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor told Law&Crime that evidence showed that Kelly is innocent. She maintained that Hutchings is guilty.
"I dismissed the case against Sophia Kelly because it became clear with the evidence that came out at the trial (particularly the medical testimony) that Logan Hutchings was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," she wrote in an email. "I cannot nor will I ever pursue a case against someone who I know did not commit the offense."
As Law&Crime previously reported, young Ocean Wayne Hutchings died on June 14, 2022, following skull and rib fractures. (Authorities said he was 3-months-old while his obituary said 4 months.)
On June 15, 2022, Kelly posted "My sweet boy❣️ We will get justice for you. 🤍🕊" on Facebook.
Sophia Kelly Facebook post
"My world has been turned around 5 times this week and I'll never have trust in anyone again," Logan Hutchings wrote on June 16, 2022.
But cops arrested her and Hutchings in April 2023.
"On June 12, 2022, ISP DCI was requested by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Pinckneyville Police Department to investigate serious injuries sustained to a 3-month-old male infant," officers said. "The infant had been admitted to a hospital in St. Louis, Missouri and was discovered to have a skull fracture, along with multiple rib fractures. Prior to the arrival at the hospital, the infant had been in the care of Hutchings and Kelly, the infant's parents, in Pinckneyville. On June 14, 2022, the infant was pronounced deceased at the hospital as a result of these injuries."
An obituary for Ocean said that in his brief life he "enjoyed Hey Bear Sensory Videos and the outdoors and loved his big brother, Ozark and his Mom and Dad."
Note: We added a statement from Mudge and adjusted the headline to reflect it.
Matt Naham contributed to this report.
