One Decade From Murder

Decade – Corey Breininger & Judith Hawkey ***Warning, this episode contains descriptions of child abuse.*** Mark Center, Ohio. A very small town of about 50 or 60 people. Late in the afternoon of November 3rd, 2003, a 911 operator recieved a call from a hysterical child saying I need help right away. “What happened honey? Calm down” He’s shot. “Who got shot?” My dad. “Your dad got shot? Where did he get shot at?” In the head. Detective Cliff Vandemark of the Defiance County Sheriff’s Office was the first to arrive on the scene. He knew this house and the residents. 10-year-old Corey Breininger opened the door. He knew Corey from the time he was very little. Corey took the officer’s hand and leads him to a bedroom where his father, Robert, had been shot in the head and was beyond help. He immediately began trying to comfort the crying boy who kept saying “save my dad, he’s my best friend.” 34 year old Robert Breininger was a kind, gentle, and hardworking family man. He lived in the small ranch house with his wife Judith, her daughter from a previous marriage and his son, Corey, from his previous marriage. Corey sat in the detective’s lap and told him between sobs that his father had been teaching him about hunting and showing him how to use a shotgun. Corey went to hand the gun to his father and his finger was on the trigger. Robert grabbed the muzzle of the gun and pulled it toward himself and the gun fired. It was an accident. He immediately dropped the gun and called 911. The scene was a bit puzzling to the crime scene investigators. Robert was lying on his back in a twin sized bed wearing earplugs. There was a book about hunting and a bright orange knit beanie hat next to him on the bed. The shotgun was on the floor of the room, to the right of the bed, but Robert had been shot on the left side of his head. Corey’s stepmom, Judith arrived at the house a short time later. She and her daughter had gone to visit her mother. She was shocked and horrified to hear what happened. She comforted Corey and asked if she could take him from the scene. The death was classified as an accidental shooting and investigators left. Judith, her daughter & Corey returned and slept in the house that night. The next day, Detective Vandemark came by the house to check on Corey. Judith wouldn’t let him. Over the next few months Corey started to withdraw into himself. Judith collected Robert’s life insurance and bought new furniture and a new car. It was a small community and Judith’s neighbors didn’t like her, most were afraid of her. She was very private, always kept the shades drawn. If someone came to the door, she rarely answered and instructed Corey and her daughter to be quiet so that the person would leave. She was very suspicious of everyone. There were rumors that she slashed a neighbor’s tires. And that she fed rat poison to another neighbor’s dog because it barked too much. 8 years after Robert’s death, when Corey was a senior in high school, he was given an assignment in English to write an essay about their biggest regret. The teacher was adamant that she’d be the only one to read it. Corey wrote about the day his father died. In his essay he wrote wrote, “Yes, I did kill him, but not the way everyone thinks. Please forgive me. I’m really not a bad person. It was all Judith.” A few days after he turned in the essay, Corey was called down to the principal’s office where Detective Cliff Vandemark (the one who was first on the scene) was waiting to speak with him. Corey asked the detective when he’d be going to jail and was shocked to find out he wasn’t getting arrested. The Detective told Corey none of what happened was his fault. But he needed to help police get enough evidence to arrest Judith for murder. ***BREAK*** Corey’s birth mom wasn’t in his life, Robert and his 1st wife divorced when Corey was still a baby. Corey was raised by his father and his grandparents. Corey and his father were extremely close. He taught him to fish and let Corey help him work on his mustang. When Corey was 4 or 5 years old, Robert took him to a McDonalds to have lunch and meet his girlfriend, Judith Hawkey. She was blonde and Corey referred to her as the lady with yellow hair. Judith was kind and attentive to Corey. So, a few days later he was fine with being dropped off at Judith’s house for the day to babysit him while his father worked. Judith had a daughter about Corey’s age. She told them to go up to the daughter’s room to play but stay out of the closet. According to Corey, they went upstairs, and the girl tricked him into going into the closet and then yelled for her mother. When Judith came upstairs, she was irate. She was a completely different person. She grabbed Corey by the arm and started hitting him with a belt. For the rest of the day, he wasn’t allowed to play or eat. He was only allowed to sit and wait for his father. Just before Robert arrived, Judith grabbed Corey and said he had to tell his father he had a good time. And Corey was so scared that’s what he did. He had no idea that this would just be the beginning of years of torment. Soon after Robert and Judith got married, and Robert purchased a house where they could live comfortably with their 2 kids. Robert took a job at a steel mill and worked 3rd shift as well as overtime to pay for the house and support his new family. Judith stayed at home and watched both kids. Corey rarely saw his father after that and Judith made sure that when he was home, Robert and Corey were never alone together. Judith was always kind to Corey in front of Robert, but as soon as he was gone, it was a different story. While her own daughter could do whatever she wanted, Corey had very strict rules, like not make any noise, things almost impossible for a 5-year-old to follow. She hit him daily with her hands or with whatever was within reach. Trigger warning Judith would choke Corey. Withhold food from him. She made him take ice baths to bring down the bruising and swelling on his body from her beatings. Sometimes she even held his face under the water. A few times he passed out. And she would revive him by beating him. Corey was terrified of Judith. She made him promise not to breathe a word of what went on to his dad. And even if he wanted to, she made sure there was never an opportunity. Robert was only home on the weekends, and that’s when Corey would stay with his grandparents. Outwardly, Judith made sure everyone saw her as a loving mother and stepmother. She told everyone she wanted to adopt Corey. She took videos of Corey asking him if she was a good mom, and if he liked her and would want her to be his mom. Terrified, Corey said whatever she wanted to avoid her wrath. Corey did tell his grandparents that he wanted to live with them permanently, but Judith found out. She told him to tell Robert that his grandfather hit him with a belt. Robert was appalled and said Corey never had to go there again. He hired an attorney and made sure they had no more contact with Corey. Teachers did notice that Corey was always wearing long sleeves or even turtlenecks regardless of the weather. He never wore t-shirts or shorts, even in the middle of summer. But Corey would make an excuse and the issue was never pushed. If anyone started to notice Corey’s bruises, Judith would stop hitting him enough for the bruises to heal, and instead would burn or twist his penis. Next Judith started turning Robert against his own son. She told Robert that Corey was always being difficult and acting out. She forced Corey to act out when Robert was home. She instructed him to run around and break things, yell and scream or she’d punish him. When Robert was at work, she would force Corey to tear up his bedroom and then video tape the little boy crying while Judith could be heard saying, “Why did you do this? You have to clean this up” just so she could show Robert later. There is one video I saw, Corey is about 5 and he’s moaning and crying and throwing things, but not in a hard or angry way, just kind of picking something up and then tossing it on the floor. And the worst part is, he’s hitting himself in the head. This kid was in so much pain. Corey was just trying to survive in the situation. He didn’t want to anger his father, but if he did exactly what Judith asked, there would be a short period of time where she would be nice to him. Judith’s plan eventually worked. Robert was always angry and frustrated with Corey. He even went to spank Corey and Judith stepped in and told Robert to calm down, no one was getting hit, she’d handle it. According to Corey, eventually his dad wanted nothing to do with him. Judith would confirm that by saying things like “he’s really starting to hate you.” When Corey was 10, Judith told him Robert was dying of brain cancer and only had a few months to live. Robert didn’t want to tell Corey he was dying. She went on to say that Robert wanted to be sure he could provide for them after he was gone, and he didn’t want a slow painful death. He was talking about faking an accident involving a gun so that he could go out on his own terms as well as provide for them all for years to come. Judith had a plan for how Corey could help his dad with his dying wish, but it had to be a secret. Judith told Corey to tell his father he wanted to learn how to hunt. Corey needed to shoot and kill Robert and then call 911 and say it was an accident so they could get his life insurance. Later that day Corey asked Robert to teach him how to hunt. Robert took him out back and showed Corey how to load, hold and aim a shotgun. Robert was happy to see Corey interested in something they could bond over and Corey was thrilled that he was making his dad happy. But he couldn’t bring himself to point the gun at his father. When they came back into the house, Corey could tell Judith was shocked to see them both and as soon as Robert walked away, she grabbed Corey roughly and threatened him that the next time she tells him to do something, he’d better do it. Several days later, Judith was waiting for Corey when he got off the bus. She roughly grabbed by the neck and said, “today is the day”. She told him the gun was in the laundry room along with some hunting magazines, targets and a hat. Robert was home sleeping. As soon as she and her daughter left the house, Corey was to place the hunting items around the bed and then shoot Robert. Corey did as he was told. He walks up to his father, sleeping in bed, holds up the shotgun and pulls the trigger. But nothing happened. For a second he thought the gun was broken and he wouldn’t have to do it. But thinking of how Judith would beat him if he failed again, he pointed the gun once more, thinking it wouldn’t work, but this time, it fired. Then he called 911 as Judith instructed. When officers arrived, they tried comforting Corey and reminding him accidents happen. Judith arrived and acted as though she was in shock. If the officers were near, she comforted Corey. But when they walked away, she told Corey to quit crying and that he better not mess this up. They next day Judith was calling the insurance company. The insurance payout was half a million dollars. She immediately started spending the money. And during that time, she was nicer to Corey. That helped a bit with the overwhelming guilt he had. She even used the money to try to buy his silence by buying him a sports car like the one his dad had. This was before he could drive. He loved that car and would clean and polish it often, dreaming of the day he got his license and could take off in it and get away from her. But when Corey finally turned 16, Judith sold the car. And as the life insurance money started to dwindle, Judith turned her negative attention back to Corey. When he was 18, Corey ran away to a friend’s house, and they allowed him to stay with them for a while. Corey was in his senior year of high school. Judith found him and demanded he come home but when Corey said he was never coming home, Judith told him she had hidden a video camera in the room when Corey shot his father and if she showed it to the police, he’d spend the rest of his life in jail. If he ever said a word to anyone, she’d give police the video. Corey was being eaten alive by guilt and felt trapped. He was suicidal. He was starting to recognize how manipulative Judith was and began to question if his father ever had cancer. A few months later Corey’s English teacher gave them the essay assignment. He knew he was admitting that he murdered his father and was prepared to face the consequences. On March 23, 2012 Detective Vandemark brought a recorder and interviewed Corey in the principal’s office of the high school. Corey admitted that he intentionally shot Robert because of Judith. And he unloaded all the details of the years of abuse he endured. Prosecutor Morris Murray immediately went to work to find evidence to corroborate Corey’s account of what happened and build a case against Judith. They found that only 12 hours after Robert’s death, Judith was at the Robert’s job asking about his life insurance. Detectives had Corey call Judith and attempt to get her to talk about the murder. He’s upset so it’s hard to make out some of what he’s saying without captions, so I’m going to read it: Mom? Can we talk? Yeah. I just can’t stop thinking about dad and everything. Did we do the right thing? What? Did I end his life too early? I mean what if that tumor could have been taken out? I don’t know what you’re talking about. You said he had a tumor. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Should I go to a therapist? You can do whatever you want to do. Can I tell him the truth? I don’t know what the truth is. I think I should go to a therapist. Well go wherever you want to go and do whatever you want to do. Alright. Goodbye. Clinical Psychologist Anna Salter evaluated Corey and found him to be a credible victim of years of mental and physical abuse. On March 8th 2013, Judith Hawkey was arrested on charges of abuse and murder. She acted surprised and denied everything. On October 28th, 2013, a decade after the murder of Robert Breininger, Judith went on trial. The recordings Judith made of Corey as a child to show Robert were shown to the jury. Corey testified in court and was unable to look directly at Judith. When he read his victim impact statement, Judith turned around and started yelling at him and tried to grab at him. She maintained her innocence saying Corey shot his father on purpose because they had decided to send him to military school and that he made up all the claims of abuse. Judith was convicted of aggravated murder, insurance fraud and 4 counts of felony child endangerment. The judge called her “evil beyond description”. She received a life sentence without the chance for parole. As she was escorted out of the courtroom, Judith announced that she was innocent and would be back. Sure enough, in March 2016, she appealed and was granted a retrial a few years later because she was convicted on circumstantial evidence and Corey’s word. Rather than a new trial, Judith entered an Alford Plea (that’s where the defendant doesn’t admit guilt but accepts there is enough evidence to prove guilt). She plead to lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and endangering children. She was given 10 years, including the 5 years she already served. She was released in March 2023 and moved back to Defiance County, Ohio. Corey is now 30 years old and lives in California. Has his own family and son that who he is fiercely protective of. He still lives in fear of Judith’s retaliation. Sources: Mother, May I Murder, S1E3 “Groomed to Kill” Evil Lives Here, S7E1 “It was All Judith” Murderpedia Daily Mail .co .uk