An Adams County woman and her boyfriend are now facing increased charges after the asphyxiation death of a 2-year-old girl on July 2. The mother, Tien Hawkins, 25, and her boyfriend, Brian Moser, 23, also known as Terry Smith III, were arrested following the initial investigation into the child's death. According to LOCAL12, Moser, who had previously been charged with involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, is now additionally charged with murder.
Hawkins, after being briefly released from custody, now faces a slew of new charges, including murder, involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, and permitting child abuse. As mentioned in an article by FOX19, she was re-arrested on Wednesday evening. Moser is set to make a court appearance at 3:00 p.m. today to address these severe accusations quickly.
Deputies discovered the child deceased and her two sisters, both exhibiting signs of abuse, upon arrival at the Timber Ridge Apartment Complex in West Union. The surviving siblings have been placed under the protection of Child Protective Services, their injuries being non-life-threatening. As reported by WCPO, the indictment against Hawkins includes one count of murder, one count of involuntary manslaughter, three counts of permitting child abuse, and two counts of endangering children.
In a statement obtained by WCPO, Adams County Prosecutor Aaron Haslam stated, "Both (Moser) and the mother had a duty of care to these children. We feel like with (Moser), he violated that duty of care and that failure to care for this child, and ultimately caused these very serious physical injuries, death, and that's what led us to the manslaughter charge." Notably, Haslam also remarked on Moser's recent change of name from Terry Smith III to Brian Moser, commenting on the coincidental namesake of a fictional serial killer from the television series Dexter.
