4 key details about Robert Breininger's shooting death

Publish date: 2024-05-14

Robert Breininger's murder was one of the most shocking cases in the history of Defiance County in Ohio. The peaceful family man, who lived with his wife, Judith Hawkey, and his son, Corey Breininger, in their Defiance County home in Ohio, was shot to death by his ten-year-old son in what was initially categorized as a freak accident at the hands of a child.

But shocking details about the case almost a decade later changed the face of what seemed to be an ordinary accident. The compelling case reached its fruition when an adult Corey finally revealed how his stepmom Judith made the child a lethal weapon that would kill her husband and get her a huge sum of insurance money.

This case is the subject of ID's upcoming Mother, May I Murder? episode on August 14, 2023. The episode is titled Groomed to Kill and its synopsis reads:

"Corey Breininger, a 10-year-old, shoots his father in a tragic accident, but years later, Corey reveals all is not what it seems; with extraordinary courage, he recounts the truly harrowing story of the sinister role played by his scheming stepmom."

Adult Corey (Image via WNWO)

Ahead of the episode, here are four shocking details from the twisted case of Robert Breininger's murder.

Four chilling facts about Robert Breininger's murder

1) Robert was killed by one fatal shot to the head

Judith's trial (Image via WTOL)

Though it was initially termed as an accident, mainly because 10-year-old Corey asserted that he and his father were toying with the gun as the latter was explaining hunting to the kid, Robert was killed by one single fatal bullet wound to the head.

Paramedics also determined that the gun was inches away from his head when fired.

2) Corey Brenininger changed his story almost 10 years after the events that led to the death of Robert Breininger

A decade after the murder was termed as a mere accident, Corey came forward and changed his story implicating his stepmom, Judith. Corey revealed that Judith had manipulated him as a child to kill his father.

She allegedly told the young boy that Robert Breininger was dying anyway from a brain tumour and would like to be killed so that the family could get the money. She also taught him the elaborate process of shooting and calling 911. All this while, Judith was out of the house to avoid suspicion.

3) A massive sum of $500,000 was behind the murder

Judith after getting arrested (Image via Defiance County Sheriff's Office)

When police restarted the inquiry after Corey's changed statement, they discovered that Judith Hawkey had collected a $500,000 insurance payout on her husband’s life. Moreover, Judith started the process of the payout almost immediately after Robert's death.

After this bit of detail, authorities alleged that Judith trained her stepson to kill his father so that she could have the hefty insurance money while simultaneously getting rid of her marriage.

4) Judith Hawkey took a plea deal after being convicted of all crimes in the first trial

Judith was charged with Robert Breininger's murder on her first trial, with the jury finding her guilty of all charges. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

However, in 2016, Judith got a retrial. Ahead of the retrial she took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and child endangering charges. She will remain in prison till 2023.

The upcoming episode of Mother, May I Murder will cover this case in detail.

More from Sportskeeda

" modalPopup.closeOnEsc = false; modalPopup.setHeader("Why did you not like this content?"); modalPopup.setContentText(modalText); modalPopup.addCancelOkButton("Submit", resetRatingAndFeedbackForm, sendRating); modalPopup.removeCloseModalIcon(); modalPopup.disableDismissPopup(); modalPopup.open(); } else { sendRating(index); } } function sendRating() { var requestPayload = { "post_id": 1627950, "rating_value": ratingValue } if (ratingValue > 3) { requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = null; requestPayload.rating_feedback = null; } else { if (!$('input[name="drone"]:checked') || !$('input[name="drone"]:checked').value) { showErrorMessage('option'); return; } if (!$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea") || !$(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value) { showErrorMessage('note'); return; } var selectedOption = $('input[name="drone"]:checked').value; var feedbackNote = $(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea").value; requestPayload.rating_feedback_type = selectedOption; requestPayload.rating_feedback = feedbackNote; } pureJSAjaxPost(addratingAPI, requestPayload, onsaveRatingSuccess, onsaveRatingFail, function() {}, true); } function resetRatingAndFeedbackForm() { var activeStars = Array.from($all('.rating span.rating-star.active')); for (var i=0; i < activeStars.length; i++) { activeStars[i].classList.remove("active"); } if ($('input[name="drone"]:checked')) { $('input[name="drone"]:checked').checked = false; } var userNote = document.querySelector(".post-rating-feedback-note textarea"); userNote.value = ''; modalPopup.close(); } function onsaveRatingSuccess() { modalPopup.close(); savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie(); $("#post-rating-layout").classList.add("hidden"); $("#post-rating-message").classList.remove("hidden"); window.setInterval(function showMessage() { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.add("hidden"); }, 3000); } function onsaveRatingFail() { console.error('Saving post rating failed!'); modalPopup.close(); } function savePostIdInUserRatedPostsCookie() { userRatedPostIds.push(1627950); var expiryTime = new Date(); expiryTime.setMonth(expiryTime.getMonth() + 12); // Expiry after 1 year setCookie("user_rated_post_ids", JSON.stringify(userRatedPostIds), expiryTime); } function isPostRatedByUser() { var userRatedPostIds = getCookie('user_rated_post_ids'); if (userRatedPostIds) { try { userRatedPostIds = JSON.parse(userRatedPostIds); } catch (err) { console.error(err); return false; } } else { return false; } if(userRatedPostIds.indexOf(1627950) >= 0) { return true; } else { return false; } } function getRatingCountByPostId(postId) { return new Promise(function(resolve, reject) { pureJSAjaxGet( getRatingCountBaseURL + postId + '/rating/count', function(data) { try { data = JSON.parse(data); if (data.meta_value) { resolve(data.meta_value); } reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } catch (err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); } }, function(err) { reject("Failed to fetch rating count for the post:" + postId); }, true); }); } function showErrorMessage(messageType) { var messageContainerId = '#' + messageType + '-error'; $(messageContainerId).classList.remove('hidden'); window.setInterval(function () { $(messageContainerId).classList.add("hidden"); }, 5000); } (function() { var callFired = false; function lazyLoadPostRating() { if (callFired) return; callFired = true; if (!isPostRatedByUser()) { getRatingCountByPostId(1627950) .then(function(ratingCount) { if (ratingCount < 10) { $("#post-rating-widget").classList.remove("hidden"); } }) .catch(function(err){ console.error(err); }); } } document.addEventListener("scroll", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("mousemove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); document.addEventListener("touchmove", lazyLoadPostRating, { passive: true, once: true }); })();