MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — Anthony Hauschultz, the twin brother of victim Ethan Hauschultz, took the stand Thursday at the Manitowoc County Courthouse in an emotional fourth day of the trial of Timothy Hauschultz, who is charged with neglect and child abuse in connection to the death of his then-7-year-old great-nephew.
Watch the full broadcast here:
Anthony, now 16, testified in custody, telling the court the longest he remembered carrying wood as punishment was 12 or 13 hours.
"There was no going inside, you do it until you do it," Anthony said.
He told the court the rule was clear: don't stop. If they stopped, time was added by Timothy. If they dropped a log, time was also added by Timothy.
Anthony also testified that Damian Hauschultz — who has been convicted for his role in Ethan's death — began beating them when they struggled to carry the wood.
Anthony said he did not see his brother again after going inside to take a shower when Damian told him he was done carrying wood.
Defense attorney Donna Kuchler questioned Anthony about his memory of events.
"Would you agree your memory was probably better 8 years ago than it is now?" Kuchler said.
"Yeah," Anthony said.
When Kuchler referred to Timothy as "Uncle Tim," Anthony corrected her, referring to him as Tim.
The prosecution also played a forensic interview of Anthony recorded after Ethan's death, when Anthony was 7 years old.
In the recorded interview, Anthony said the logs he and his brother were ordered to carry as punishment were heavy.
"When we lie, what happens?" a detective said.
"We have to carry wood for two hours," Anthony said.
Anthony also said in the interview that Damian would kick him and sometimes hurt him; that Damian kicked Ethan a lot and threw him in a puddle; and that Damian stood on Ethan's back while he was face down in a puddle. When Ethan cried, Damian told him to shut up.
Anthony said Timothy would tell them to carry the wood, and that if they stopped, they had to stay outside for the rest of the day.
The video also showed Anthony pointing out his injuries to detectives.
A juror became emotional during the proceedings, prompting a break. Others in the gallery — including Ethan's parents — were also seen leaving in tears.
The state also played a forensic interview of Amiyah Hauschultz, Ethan and Anthony's older sister. Amiyah, who was 8 at the time, said she watched from the porch as the boys carried wood.
The interview also covered how Damian began hitting the boys with a belt when they dropped the wood, so much that the metal part of the belt came off.
The state also called Dr. Lori Frasier, a pediatrician and child abuse specialist hired by the district attorney to review the case.
"My opinion was that this type of forced physical activity exerted onto young children was not appropriate, it was physically and emotionally abuse to them," Dr. Lori Frasier said.
"It can damage your muscles, your joints, your ligaments ... it's distressful to them because they feel that pain of carrying something heavy for a long period of time," Frasier said.
The defense questioned Frasier's credibility, pointing out she never examined the children and had not reviewed all of their police interviews when she wrote her report.
"When you talk about the good practice of examining children, you did not do that," Kuchler said.
The defense also questioned Frasier's pay as she was hired to review this case by the prosecution.
Amiyah will return to the witness stand Friday to testify.
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