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A Natural Bridge woman pled guilty to a felony charge of child endangerment in Rockbridge County Circuit Court earlier this month, in connection with the death of her infant son, Holton Allen Scott Hostetter, on Nov. 24, 2023.
Julia Hostetter, Holton’s mother, was indicted by a Rockbridge County grand jury on May 6, 2024 on four felony charges. In addition to the child endangerment charge, she was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, child abuse or neglect and possession of a schedule I or II drug. She was arraigned on Sept. 24, 2024 and pled guilty to the drug possession charge and not guilty to the other charges. She changed her plea on the child endangerment charge on Jan. 8 as part of a plea agreement with the Rockbridge County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office. The involuntary manslaughter and child abuse charges were dropped as a result of the plea agreement.
During the plea hearing, Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Megan Zwisohn presented evidence that would have been part of the Commonwealth’s case had it gone to trial, including the report of autopsy on Holton Hostetter. The autopsy, performed by Dr. Amy Tharp on Nov. 27, 2023, found that Hostetter had died of accidental suffocation after he was found with his head between a pillow and the side of the bassinet where he was sleeping on the morning of Nov. 24, 2023. Several small contusions and abrasions were found on Hostetter’s head and livor mortis, or the postmortem pooling of blood in lower portions of the body, and the position in which he was found were “consistent with accidental suffocation,” Tharp ruled in her report.
Zwisohn also introduced list of discharge instructions given to Hostetter when she was discharged from the Lewis Gale Medical Center in Roanoke on Sept. 23, 2023, after giving birth to her son, which included instructions to not put toys, pillows or bumper pads in the crib.
A pre-sentence report was ordered for Hostetter and she is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14 on both the child endangerment and drug possession charges. Cameron Scott Carper, who was indicted on the same charges as Hostetter last May, pled not guilty and will stand trial in March.
