A woman facing murder charges for allegedly causing the death of an 8-month-old baby in Centralia in December 2022 has had her case transferred from Lewis County to Thurston County.
Haylea A. Hutchings, 33, of Olympia, was charged April 22, 2024, in Lewis County Superior Court with one count each of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, second-degree assault of a child and first-degree rape of a child, domestic violence. Trial was scheduled to begin Jan. 27, 2025.
While investigators have confirmed that the baby did die at Providence Centralia Hospital on Dec. 20, 2022, investigators have reportedly determined that “all acts that led to the death of the infant occurred in Thurston County,” according to the defense’s change of venue motion filed Dec. 2.
“According to the State, all the acts (that) caused harm to the infant happened at the home of the Defendant when no one else was present. This home is in Thurston County,” defense attorney Richard Woodrow stated in the motion.