Shocking Tragedy: 8-Year-Old Child Dies from Drug Exposure, Parents Sentenced to Dozens of Years in Prison

Justice for Hunter Hawa

In a tragic case that has left the community in shock, justice was finally served for 8-year-old Hunter Hawa. On Wednesday, the Chester County Court of Common Pleas delivered sentences to his parents, Mousa Abdallah Hawa and Holly Marie Back, for their role in his death.

Judge Analisa Sondergaard handed down an aggregate sentence of 22.5 to 45 years for Mousa Abdallah Hawa, while Holly Marie Back received an aggregate sentence of 20 to 40 years. The sentences reflect the severity of the crimes committed against Hunter, who died from fentanyl, morphine, and cocaine intoxication. The incident occurred at their shared home in Coatesville nearly three years ago, where Hunter was exposed to these dangerous substances.

The court ordered both parents to serve a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in state prison for committing murder in the third degree. This is below the statutory maximum of 40 years. In addition, Mousa Abdallah Hawa was sentenced to serve 4 to 8 years in state prison for aggravated assault and 1 to 2 years for endangering the welfare of children, with credit for time served from June 3, 2024, to June 17, 2026.

Holly Marie Back received a sentence of 6 to 12 years for aggravated assault and 1.5 to 3 years for endangering the welfare of children, with credit for time served from June 3, 2024, through this past Wednesday.

A Tragic Outcome

This past February, a Chester County jury found both parents guilty of all criminal charges following a four-day trial at the Chester County Court of Common Pleas in West Chester. The jury agreed with the prosecution that Hunter’s parents failed to provide him with responsible supervision, which was reckless and ultimately fatal. Hunter’s ingestion of the illicit drugs that his parents were consuming led to his death on July 26, 2023.

Prior to Hunter’s death, the Chester County Department of Children, Youth and Families (CYF) had opened an investigation into his care, including possible physical abuse. He was briefly removed from their home. Coatesville police twice found the young boy alone outside his home, wearing only underwear.

The jury found Hawa and Back guilty of third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault of a child, endangering the welfare of children, and reckless endangerment on Feb. 6.

Community Reaction

“I am grateful for the work of the Coatesville police officers, county detectives, and prosecutors who fought together to get this child justice,” said Police Chief Jack Laufer for the City of Coatesville prior to Wednesday’s sentencing.

Veteran child abuse investigators Chester County Detective Jonathan Shave and Coatesville Cpl. Shawn Dowd determined that Hunter died because of the reckless conduct of his parents, as previously reported. Both Hawa and Back were users of illegal narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

Laufer called Hunter’s case “sad and disturbing.” “Judge Sondergaard’s sentence is justice for a child that deserved so much more,” said Chester County District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe following Wednesday’s sentence of judgment.

Details from the Arrest Affidavit

“The victim child’s toxicology results indicate an environment where the victim child was repeatedly administered or given access to fentanyl and was administered or accessed cocaine,” the detailed, 12-page arrest affidavit stated. According to the affidavit, to ward off the child’s possible use of the drugs in their Coatesville home, they simply told him it was “medicine” and that he should not touch the “medicine.”

“The defendants knew and acknowledged the danger their actions posed to the victim child, going so far as to specifically advise the victim child of the danger of their actions,” the affidavit stated. Even though they had opportunities to remove Hunter from the home and the dangerous drugs, they instead “chose to place their young child in a situation in which death or serious bodily injury was an almost guaranteed result.”

“This was a case about parents who continually disregarded every basic parental responsibility and allowed their child to ingest fentanyl and cocaine,” the Chester County DA said via a provided statement. He said Hunter’s parents put themselves above their child and “we prosecuted them to the fullest extent of the law.”