Brittani Hill, a 22-year-old mother who is six months pregnant with her second child, appeared recently in the Jackson County District Court where she is being charged with illegally burying her baby in her backyard.

 

According to Prosecutor Jerry Jarzynka, the baby’s remains were discovered last weekend in the backyard of a house on Tophith Road in Waterloo Township. Allegedly, Hill and the baby’s father, Timothy Young, were living in Michigan at this address at the time of their young son’s death in February 2016. However, Jarzynka claims that while several neighbors noticed the baby’s sudden absence before the couple moved to Ohio, a number of stories were concocted to explain why he was gone and not moving with them.

 

It was apparently these questionable stories that led someone to contact police and report what may be a child’s suspicious disappearance. The resulting investigation led to the discovery of little Matthew Hills remains, buried in a shallow grave here in Michigan. But by that time, Hill and Young had already moved to Ohio and resettled there.

 

Hill has been charged with Concealing The Death Of An Individual, which is a five year felony, and Removing a Dead Body Without a Medical Examiner’s Permission, which is a one year misdemeanor. Under Michigan law, every person who dies in this state must have their death registered with the proper authorities. Anyone who fails to report a death, or attempts to conceal a death, can be charged with a crime.

 

Court records reveal that Hill told officers that her son died of choking, and they chose to bury him where they were living at the time. This case is still under investigation, and police say that they may yet seek further charges against the couple, in the event that they discover new information. The cause of death has not yet been officially determined.

 

The prosecutor requested that the Judge grant a $1 million bail, on the grounds that Hill has no ties to the community, or to Michigan. She has no family here, Jarzynka said, and since the baby’s death in February, Hill has moved from Michigan to Ohio, then to Oklahoma, back in Michigan, and then once again to Ohio. The Judge, however, set the bond at $500,000. In addition, she was ordered to have no contact with Young.

 

Young has also been charged, however he is still in jail in Ohio, as he is involved in a pending case there. Authorities in Ohio say that once that case is dealt with, Young will be extradited to Michigan to face charges here.