MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A teenager charged with reckless homicide for the death of a 7-year-old boy is out of jail after posting a $100,000 cash bond.
Damian Hauschultz, 16, is charged in connection with the death of Ethan Hauschultz. Ethan Hauschultz was beaten, forced to carry a 44-pound-log, and buried in the snow before he died in April 2018.
Two weeks ago, Manitowoc County Judge Jerilyn Dietz denied a defense motion to reduce the bond from $100,000 cash. She had previously lowered it from $150,000 cash.
Court records indicate the bond was posted Monday by a Mishicot man. A new address in Manitowoc is listed for Damian Hauschultz.
No trial date has been set. Hauschultz returns to court July 1 for a hearing on a motion to suppress statements Hauschultz made to police.
Anyone older than 10 who is charged with murder in Wisconsin starts in adult court. Hauschultz’s request to have the case moved to juvenile court was denied. Even if convicted in adult court, Hauschultz would be placed in a juvenile facility until he is 18.
Two other relatives are also charged in the case.
Timothy Hauschultz, Damian’s father and the great-uncle of Ethan, faces eight charges, six of which are felonies. He returns to court June 29 for a motions hearing. No trial date has been set.
McKeever-Hauschultz, Timothy Hauschultz’s wife, is charged with failing to prevent bodily harm and one other charge. She returns to court May 1 for hearing to discuss results of a competency exam. No trial date has been set.
The complaint says on April 20, 2018, Timothy told his son, Damian Hauschultz, then 15, to make sure 7-year-old Ethan Hauschultz completed his punishment.
That included, according to the complaint, Ethan Hauschultz being required to carry a 44-pound log for two hours around a path in the backyard of their home. Damian said he had to carry wood for not knowing 13 Bible verses to Timothy’s satisfaction. The punishment was one week of carrying wood for two hours per day. Timothy picked out the logs, but Damian had to supervise the punishment for the younger children.
During that time the complaint says Ethan Hauschultz “struggled to carry his log” and Damian did “hit, kick, strike and poke Ethan approximately 100 times.” The complaint goes on to say Damian Hauschultz also stood on Ethan Hauschultz’s “body and head” while he was “face-down in a puddle.”
The complaint also alleges Damian Hauschultz buried Ethan Hauschultz in about “80 pounds of packed snow” where he was left for about 20 to 30 minutes without a coat or boots.
Ethan died of hypothermia, but also had extensive other injuries, including blunt force injuries to his head, chest and abdomen, and a rib fracture, the medical examiner determined, the complaint states.
