10 Heartbreaking Details Surrounding Ethan Hauschultz, Who Died After A Punishment For Forgetting Bible Verses

6 /10 Pronounced Dead

Punishment on April 20, 2018, began at around 1 p.m. Timothy and Tina was not at home, and so their adoptive son was in charge of enforcing the cruel disciplinary method to Ethan.

After burying Ethan under a 90-pound pile of snow, Damian left him for about 20 to 30 minutes.

When Damian observed Ethan was not moving, he called Timothy twice to inform him about the situation. About ten minutes after Timothy and Tina arrived, they took Ethan to the Holy Family Memorial.

Damian was also with them. Later that night, at 9:22 p.m., a doctor pronounced Ethan Hauschultz dead.

5 /10 Investigation Underway

Police received information from the emergency room medical staff at the Holy Family that Ethan might have sustained some injuries from falling out of a tree.

At around 4 p.m., when Ethan was still clinging to his life, Deputy Haese from the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office contacted Timothy and Tina at the hospital.

Timothy told the deputy that the children were out carrying logs that day due to doing something wrong. He said the children called him once they realized a bad thing had happened to Ethan.

4 /10 Cause Of Death

Dr. Wiselawa Tlomnak performed an autopsy of Ethan and determined hypothermia as the cause of death. However, the doctor also found contributing factors such as blunt force injury to the head, chest, and abdomen.

A list of injuries continued with, among others, fracture of the 11th rib and soft tissue bleeding. Infrared imaging of Ethan’s back revealed a print consistent with a type of footwear.

That same day, law enforcement arrived at the Hauschultz’ property with Timothy. Investigators found the log Ethan was carrying; it was an entire section of a tree trunk. There was blood in the snow as well.

3 /10 Search For Evidence

Investigators found a collection of necessary evidence during the search of the property.

In addition to the log itself, they also seized the shovel believed to have been used to bury Ethan beneath 80 pounds of packed snow, the boy’s boots, and bodily fluids in the snow, including blood.

The death of Ethan Hauschultz led to the arrest of Timothy, Tina, and Damian Hauschultz.

Defense attorney Donna Kuchler argued that evidence found during that search should have been inadmissible because Timothy revoked the permission to perform the search. Judge Jerilyn Dietz ruled otherwise.

2 /10 Not The First

Timothy had been violent with children before. In 2009, he pleaded no contest to felony child abuse after being arrested for striking two boys with wood.

A judge found him guilty as charged, but two years later, it was reduced to disorderly conduct. He had also been convicted of felony armed robbery in 1989. 

Another surprising fact of the case was that Wisconsin law had prevented social caseworkers from considering any previous criminal records of a potential guardian.

Ethan and his siblings moved from an unsafe environment into another horrible place among violent people.

1 /10 Found Guilty

Tina Hauschultz pleaded guilty to failing to prevent bodily harm in the death of Ethan. In March 2021, she was sentenced to five years in prison and five years of extended supervision.

Damian Hauschultz pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide in late June 2021. The conviction could carry up to 40-years imprisonment. He will be sentenced in September.

Timothy Hauschultz has been charged with three counts of felony child abuse and felony murder, among other lesser charges. The trial begins on December 6, 2021.