Nearly a year after 8-year-old Hunter Hawa died after overdosing on fentanyl and cocaine, investigators say they had enough evidence to arrest and charge his parents, Holly Back, 40, and Mousa Hawa, 41, with murder.
The parents of 8-year-old Hunter Hawa, who died from a drug overdose in July 2023, have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with his death, court documents show.
Holly Back, 40, and Mousa Hawa, 41, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, have been charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and other related charges, according to court documents obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Medics responding to a call of a child in cardiac arrest at Back and Hawa's Coatesville home on July 26, 2023 said they found Hawa performing CPR on Hunter, who they said had "had ashen skin and cyanosis to his mouth and ears," the Chester County District Attorney's office said in a statement. Cyanosis is a bluish-purple discoloration of the skin that occurs when there is not enough oxygen in the blood.
"When officers took over the CPR, they noticed several crystalline baggies scattered throughout the living room and other medication bottles in a bag on the floor," the statement continued.
Hunter was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.
Though Hawa and Back allegedly denied bein drug users on the scene, investigators discovered that the home Hawa and Back shared with the little boy was "littered with drug paraphernalia," the district attorney's office said.
Empty heroin bags were found in three separate locations on the floor of the room where Hunter was found, and investigators went on to find "a shoebox that contained hundreds of small glassine bags that each contained blue fentanyl/heroin bags that were either empty or contained residue," the DA's office said.
A review of Hawa and Back's cellphones found messages from the day before Hunter died discussing drug use, the DA's office said. Investigators said Hawa told them that Hunter "knew not to touch the illegal drugs because both Defendants identified the paraphernalia as 'medicine,' and the child victim was not allowed to touch medicine unless given to the child," the DA's office said.
Despite the parents' denials, the little boy had fentanyl, cocaine and other drugs in his system, authorities said. "The blood and urine samples contained cocaine and fentanyl. The hair sample showed traces of fentanyl in the child’s system, indicating additional exposure prior to July 26, 2023," the DA's office said.
In the wake of Hunter's death, his parents created a GoFundMe campaign, where they solicited donations they said would help pay for his funeral. On the page, they wrote that the little boy "passed suddenly." "It's just really hard we loved our son with all of our hearts and he was loved by everyone he met," the campaign's page read. "I really hate to ask for help but sometimes u have to out ur hand out and ask for someone to help.”
In his obituary, Hunter was described as "a very outgoing young boy and enjoyed chatting with anyone. He always had a smile on his face and loved playing with his dog Coco.”
The Chester County District Attorney's office did not respond to Inside Edition Digital's request for comment.
In a statement, District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe said, “Parents have a sacred responsibility to care for their children. Day after day, these Defendants prioritized easy access to drugs over the health and safety of their child, leaving deadly fentanyl within arm’s reach. It is inexcusable. And it is murder.”
Neither Hawa nor Back have entered pleas to the charges they face, according to court documents obtained by Inside Edition Digital. Magisterial District Judge Gregory Hines arraigned Back on Monday and set bail of $1 million. Her attorney did not respond to Inside Edition Digital.
Hawa does not have an attorney listed and was arraigned Tuesday. He was already being held in Chester County prison on unrelated charges, according to court documents.
They are due back in court later this month.
