Family Of Rebecca Hogue Speak Out After Sentencing For 2-Year-Old's Death

Family and supporters of Rebecca Hogue spoke out after she was sentenced on Friday for the death of her two-year-old child.

Her sentence included 16 months in prison by a Cleveland County judge. Hogue was convicted this past November for the 2020 death of her 2-year-old son, Ryder Johnson.

"She's reliving that reliving that trauma every single day," said Andrew Casey, Hogue's Attorney. "Not just before trial, but through trial."

Investigators say Ryder was beaten to death by her then-boyfriend, Christopher Trent, who took his own life days later after a search team found him in the Wichita Mountains. Prosecutors said Hogue didn't do enough to protect Ryder and that's why she was convicted for murder under the state's failure-to-protect law.

However, supporters of Hogue tell News 9 they don't believe this was a fair trial and want the law changed moving forward.

"That law's wrong," said Laney Hogue Edwards, Hogue's Aunt. "It doesn't save children from getting abused, it actually stops mothers from talking about children being abused because they might end up in this courthouse."

According to DHS, Hogue knew about Trent's past violence, as he had been arrested for assault before. A judge says the sentence represents the remaining years that her son would have been in her care.

"Unmitigated tragedy, about what she went through and what her child went through," said Casey. "There's parts of it where I would wake up vomiting in this trial just knowing what happened to that poor soul."

Hogue will be released in 13 months due to time served.