MANITOWOC, WI (WTAQ) – One of the family members charged in the death of seven-year-old Ethan Hauschultz was in court on Monday.
Fifteen-year-old Damian Hauschultz was in court on Monday and had a preliminary hearing set for Tuesday, March 19 at noon.
He is being charged with first-degree reckless homicide and six other charges. Despite his young age, in Wisconsin, juveniles charged with certain homicide counts are handled in adult court.
On April 20, 2018, 48-year-old Timothy Hauschultz told his son Damian Hauschultz to make sure Ethan Hauschultz completed his assigned punishment, according to the criminal complaint.
That punishment included being required to carry a 44-pound log for two hours around a path in the backyard of their home during a winter storm.
The criminal complaint says, “Damian described Timothy as the punisher but if Tina is consulted, she often times will tell the children they need to go and see what Timothy says… Damian confirmed that Timothy had selected the logs that each child was to carry that day.”
Damian Hauschultz grew annoyed with Ethan Hauschultz because he kept “dropping the wood every 5 minutes,” according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, Ethan Hauschultz “struggled to carry his log” and Damian did “hit, kick, strike and poke Ethan Hauschultz approximately 100 times.”
It also states that Damian Hauschultz stood on Ethan Hauschultz’s “body and head” while he was “face-down in a puddle.”
Ethan Hauschultz was buried in an estimated 80 pounds of wet, heavy snow for about 20 to 30 minutes, according to the criminal complaint.
“Damian guessed it was pretty cold for [Ethan] but allowed him to stay there. When [Ethan] was buried in the snow he was not saying words. Damian described noises like slight moans or whines.”
Ethan Hauschultz died from hypothermia and other blunt force injuries to the head, chest, and abdomen, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Timothy Hauschultz is being charged with felony murder and five other charges, while thirty-six-year-old Tina McKeever-Hauschultz, Damian Hauschultz’s mother, is charged with failing to prevent bodily harm and intentionally contributing to the delinquency of a child.
Tina McKeever-Hauschultz is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon.
Timothy Hauschultz and Tina McKeever-Hauschultz, Ethan Hauschultz’s great uncle and great aunt, were his guardians at the time of his death.
At the time of Ethan Hauschultz’s death they were not home, according to court documents.
