Accused of causing their 8-year-old’s fatal overdose by leaving drugs out in the open, Coatesville couple ordered to stand trial

COATESVILLE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The parents of the Chester County 8-year-old who overdosed on fentanyl and cocaine last summer are ordered to stand trial on murder and manslaughter charges .

First responders found Hunter Hawa unresponsive, wedged between a recliner and a wall in the living room, when they were called to an apartment on East Lincoln Highway in Coatesville on July 26, 2023. County detectives testified the couple had left a significant amount of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine lying around the room.

Mousa Hawa, 41, and Holly Back, 40, are charged in the boy’s death, which the medical examiner says was caused by fentanyl, morphine and cocaine intoxication.

At a preliminary hearing for Back and Hawa, their lawyers unsuccessfully argued there wasn’t enough evidence to support charges that include third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault.

Back’s lawyer, Brian McCarthy, says his client is a mother in mourning. “I think the evidence will show she is not a murderer. And we just want to ensure that she gets a fair and thorough process here,” McCarthy said.

“This case is a tragedy. There are no winners here, no matter what the outcome is.”

Defense attorneys said prosecutors failed to show how or when Hunter ingested the deadly combination of drugs, arguing Back and Hawa had told the boy the drugs were “their medicine” and would kill him if he touched them.

But prosecutor Erin O’Brien argued that just shows the couple was well aware of the danger the drugs presented. She told the judge: “The drugs were everywhere. Hunter ingested them and died.”

The couple’s formal arraignment is scheduled for Aug. 15 in West Chester.