A seven-year-old Wisconsin boy was allegedly made to carry a 44-pound log through freezing conditions before being beaten and buried in snow as punishment for failing to memorize Bible verses, prosecutors say.
Ethan Hauschultz weighed only 62 pounds when he died on April 20, 2018, following hours of strenuous activity outside his family’s home in Newton, Wisconsin.
More than eight years later, his great-uncle and legal guardian, 56-year-old Timothy Hauschultz, is on trial in connection with the death. He is accused of orchestrating the punishment that led to the boy’s fatal injuries.
Jurors in Manitowoc County heard Wednesday that Ethan and his twin brother were routinely ordered to carry heavy logs around a track in the backyard for two hours.
The original criminal complaint states that Ethan had failed to memorize 13 Bible verses, prompting the punishment.
Timothy’s teenage stepson, Damian Hauschultz, was also accused of abusing Ethan during the ordeal.
Ethan Hauschultz weighed only 62 pounds when he died on April 20, 2018, after hours of grueling physical activity outside his family’s home in Newton, Wisconsin.
Damian, now 22, testified Wednesday against his stepfather, recounting how the punishment became fatal after Timothy and his wife left the home to run errands.
His testimony offered jurors a detailed account of what happened on April 20, 2018.
Damian said Timothy personally approved the logs and told him to ensure the children followed the instructions.
Evidence presented in court showed that Ethan’s log weighed more than 44 pounds. His twin brother was required to carry a log weighing 35.6 pounds.
After roughly 45 minutes, both boys began struggling and repeatedly dropped the logs as exhaustion set in.
Damian acknowledged hitting and kicking the children and striking them with a branch and belt in an attempt to make them continue.
Damian Hauschultz, Timothy Hauschultz’s teenage stepson at the time, was also accused of abusing the boy.
The criminal complaint alleges that Damian struck, kicked and poked Ethan about 100 times. He was also accused of standing on the child’s body and head while Ethan lay face-down in a puddle.
Ethan eventually collapsed and became unresponsive.
Damian told the jury that he initially believed Ethan was pretending and tried to force him to move.
Rather than immediately seeking medical assistance, Damian covered the boy with snow—first using his hands and then a shovel.
He said he left only a small opening near Ethan’s head while packing snow around the child’s body.
According to Court TV, the teenager had previously referred to the makeshift burial as a “snow coffin.”
More than eight years later, Ethan’s great-uncle and legal guardian, Timothy Hauschultz, 56, is finally standing trial over the boy’s death.
Ethan remained beneath the snow for about 20 minutes before Damian uncovered him and realized it was far worse.
He testified that he called Timothy and his mother, Tina McKeever-Hauschultz, after Ethan stopped moving and told them the boy was acting strangely.
When they arrived, they tried to warm the child with a bath and fresh clothes before driving him to the hospital.
Doctors spent hours trying to revive Ethan, whose internal body temperature had fallen to 73 degrees Fahrenheit.
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He died from hypothermia and blunt-force injuries.
Damian, who was 14 at the time, later pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
His testimony Wednesday is central to prosecutors’ case against Timothy, who faces six felony charges, including neglect of a child resulting in death and intentionally contributing to the delinquency of a child resulting in death.
Prosecutors argue that Timothy bears responsibility for Ethan’s death despite not being present when the fatal abuse occurred because he devised the punishment, selected the logs and left Damian in charge.
But Timothy’s defense insists the teenager acted on his own and that the violence went far beyond anything he had been told to do.
During cross-examination Wednesday, Damian acknowledged that Timothy had never ordered him to hurt Ethan or the other children.
Defense attorney Donna Jean Kuchler has argued that Timothy told Damian to leave Ethan alone after learning the boy was struggling.
Damian also admitted he became frustrated with the younger children and lost control of his emotions.
The trial comes after years of legal wrangling that left Timothy’s prosecution in limbo long after the other two people charged in connection with Ethan’s death had been convicted.
Timothy, his wife Tina and Damian were all charged in 2019, nearly a year after Ethan’s death.
Tina was sentenced to five years in prison for her role in the events leading up to the boy’s death and failing to prevent it. She was released to extended supervision in January 2024.
Damian pleaded guilty in June 2021 and received his 20-year prison sentence, but subsequent appeals complicated the case against Timothy.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys wanted Damian to testify, but his lawyer said he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination while his appeals remained pending, FOX 11 reported.
The legal battle dragged on for years before the court rejected his appeals, removing a major obstacle to Timothy’s trial.
The case was further delayed by repeated attempts to negotiate a plea agreement.
In February 2025, Judge Jerilyn Dietz rejected a proposed deal that would have allowed Timothy to plead guilty to two child abuse charges in exchange for prosecutors dropping six other counts, including a felony murder charge.
Dietz ruled that the agreement was not in the public’s best interest.
The proceedings suffered another setback when Dietz withdrew from the case after it emerged that she had previously served as a guardian ad litem for witnesses involved in unrelated matters.
The court reassigned the case to Judge Carey Reed, who rejected another proposed plea agreement in November 2025.
Timothy’s original felony murder charge was subsequently changed, leaving him facing six counts at the start of his trial this week.
Ethan and two of his siblings had been placed in Timothy’s care because of neglect in their own home.
The great-uncle became their legal guardian, placing him in charge of the children, whom prosecutors now allege he subjected to dangerous punishments.
On Wednesday, jurors were shown the logs recovered from the property, along with clothing Ethan had been wearing when he was found.
Investigators also presented photographs showing bruises and scratches on his twin brother’s face, legs and abdomen.
Timothy has denied responsibility for the boy’s death.
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