Teen killed cousin, 7, by burying him alive in snow until he froze to death
Sunday, September 5, 2021
Damian Hauschultz, 17, of Mishicot, Wisconsin, was jailed for 20 years on Thursday after pleading guilty in June to first-degree reckless homicide in the 2018 death of little Ethan Hauschultz.
According to the criminal complaint, Damian's father, Timothy Hauschultz, ordered Ethan to be violently punished for not knowing 13 Bible verses.
He told Damian, who was 14 at the time, to carry out the vile punishments.
Ethan and his siblings were reportedly forced to carry huge logs around a path for two hours a day for a week while Damian supervised.
The criminal complaint said Ethan struggled to carry his 44-pound log and Damian hit, kicked, and poked the little boy around 100 times.
Evil Damian also stood on Ethan's "body and head" while he was "face-down in a puddle".
The complaint also alleges Damian buried Ethan in about 80 pounds of snow and he was left there for about 20 to 30 minutes without a coat or boots.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office found Ethan died of hypothermia and blunt force injuries to his head, chest and abdomen, WBAY-TV reports.
When Ethan's mum, Andrea Everett, arrived, she found the boy didn't have a heartbeat and his body temperature was only 23 degrees Fahrenheit, according to reports.
Investigators later asked Damian how much snow was covering Ethan.
Damian replied by saying Ethan "was in his own little coffin of snow" and laughed, according to the criminal complaint.
Manitowoc County Circuit Court Judge Jerilyn Dietz told Damian at the sentencing on Thursday: "My goal is to ensure that you are incarcerated for just long enough to mature, and develop, to work on education, to work on treatment, work on controlling that angry side."
After serving his time in prison, he will be on extended supervision for another decade, WLUK-TV reports.
Damian's father, Timothy, faces trial in December and has eight charges, including felony murder and felony contributing to the delinquency of a child.
His wife, Tina McKeever-Hauschultz, is already serving five years.
We've all gone through trauma. But it doesn't mean that we brutally kill a seven-year-old,
Andrea EverettEthan's Mom
Damian's parents had been the court-appointed guardians for Ethan, who was Timothy's great-nephew, since 2017.
Ethan's mum, Andrea, told Damian in court: "I've listened to people in this courtroom blame your parents for the reason why you've killed my son.
"I've listened to people talk about the trauma that you have gone through.
"We've all gone through trauma. But it doesn't mean that we brutally kill a seven-year-old."
Damian was reportedly ordered by the judge to write a letter to Ethan's mum after he'd been in prison for five years, telling her what he'd learned.
The horrific case also inspired State Senator Andre Jacque to bring in Ethan’s Law, aimed at protecting children from being placed with known abusers.
Sen. Jacque said: "What happened to Ethan is unbelievably tragic.
"If the loopholes didn’t exist, Ethan and his two siblings could not have been placed in this home, and presumably Ethan would still be alive today.
"The system failed him, and we owe it to his memory to put proper guidelines in place."