.png)
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
HART — A 27-year-old mother convicted of second-degree child abuse in connection to the death of her 7-month-old son was sentenced to 54 months (4 ½ years) to 10 years in prison in Oceana County’s 51st Circuit Court Monday, Oct. 12.
Elizabeth LynnLanor Hogan pleaded no contest to the charge, Aug. 10.
Hogan
Her boyfriend, Devin Austin Brown-Fowler, 34, received the same sentence, Aug. 3, in connection to Maverick Lyle Bouck’s death. Brown-Fowler pleaded no contest to second-degree child abuse, June 8.
Sentencing guidelines in Hogan’s case are 29-57 months, said Oceana County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Bizon.
The Oceana County’s Sheriff’s Office investigated the baby boy’s death that occurred the evening of May 4, 2025 in the 9000 block of South 192nd Avenue in Greenwood Township.
“Very understandably, people are upset because this is a highly emotional situation,” said Bizon. “We have a child who shouldn’t be but is deceased. I can understand that there is a level of grief coming from members of the family who cared about this child.
“Now that the case is done, I can say more about it. On May 4, 2025, there was a medical emergency call. The Fremont officer, (Sgt. Curtis) Franks, was the first one out there followed by several Oceana County first responders, police and medical people. The original assumption was the child had drowned in a bathtub. There were conflicting statements given by the caregiver—the boyfriend Devin Brown-Fowler—the other person who was convicted in this. It had the appearance of probably a bathtub drowning.
“One of the things that happened in this case is that it was sent to a forensic pathologist. Forensic pathology is a very specialized subset of medical expertise that evaluates causes and manners of death. Ultimately, it’s up to the medical examiner whether or not an autopsy is done, but in this case an autopsy was done. When they did the autopsy, there were significant findings that were important. The child did have a level of pneumonia, but that was ruled out as the cause of death. This child did not drown. The child had multiple other problems going on. There was a congenital issue with the heart. There was an infection going on of some kind that was non-specified.”
“The child also had significant and concerning injuries that were of various ages,” said Bizon. The forensic pathologist brought in a forensic anthropologist. “This person specializes in the anthropology of bones. They found multiple injuries that were of various ages. The doctors are left with these various things, and none of them specifically can be shown to cause the child’s death. But the child did have these injuries. The next thing we wanted to know was: how did the child get injured?
“Detectives (Mark) Hiddema and (Donnie) Hansen worked very hard. There has been this repeated accusation that we ‘took the easy way out.’” Bizon strongly disagrees. “Det. Hiddema and Det. Hansen worked so hard to figure out what happened to this child. They interviewed everybody who had a connection to this child.”
One of the first people ruled out as a suspect was Maverick’s biological father, who did not have contact with him during the time frame of his injuries. “He didn’t have access to the child to cause the injuries.”
“Brown-Fowler was around, but not for all of it. He was not around for some of the older injuries. He’s fairly newer in the storyline. The consistent presence is Elizabeth Hogan.”
“The police were consistently and diligently looking into what caused this. What we wound up getting from her was an explanation that while carrying the child, she fell on the child.” Bizon and investigators were highly skeptical, but her story could not be disproved. “The doctors can’t say that it didn’t cause the injuries,” he said.
“What is not effective in court is saying, ‘Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I just don’t believe her.’ We do not know how the child got hurt, and we know that she did not take care of that child.
“We spent hours going charge by charge, looking at the elements of the offense, trying to figure out what we can and cannot prove.”
Elizabeth Hogan’s father argued before Judge Susan K. Sniegowski that she should have been charged with negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter. “Negligent homicide does not exist in Michigan anymore,” said the prosecutor. Around 2020, the legislature rescinded that statute and replaced it—the element of negligent homicide involved a motor death—with moving violation causing death. There is no charge for negligent homicide.
“Involuntary manslaughter involves some act that I can prove the person did and intended to do caused the death. And in this case, we do not have that. I cannot say that either one of them killed this child.
“Judge Sniegowski affirmed at every hearing that these were the correct charges for this case. As tragic as it was, this is what was prove-able in this case.
“Both of them were sentenced at the top of the guidelines. The judge took this very seriously; we took this very seriously; and the detectives took this very seriously. They are going to prison for years on an appropriate charge and an appropriate sentence as determined by the legislative guidelines.”
Although Hogan has no prior criminal record, she has pending felony charges in VanBuren County. She is charged with sale/possession of a taser and carrying a concealed weapon stemming from a Nov. 20, 2025 offense, court records show. A warrant for her arrest was issued Dec. 18, 2025.
She received received credit for 325 days served in jail in the Oceana County case.
______________________________________
Please Support Local News Coverage
For generations, local newspapers were supported by subscriptions. Today, while Mason County Press and Oceana County Press remain free to everyone, the cost of producing quality local journalism continues to rise.
If you value independent local news coverage, we invite you to help sustain it by subscribing to the MCP/OCP Daily Briefing for $12 a month — about 40 cents a day — or $120 a year.
Your subscription helps support the reporters, photographers and editors who cover local government, schools, community events, sports, breaking news and the stories that matter most to Mason and Oceana counties. In return, you’ll receive the MCP/OCP Daily Briefing each morning with the day’s headlines, along with occasional breaking news and special email editions.
Monthly subscriptions are available for $12 per month.
Click here to subscribe monthly.
Annual subscriptions are available for $120 per year. That’s a two month savings!
Click here to subscribe annually.
If you prefer to pay by check, mail your $120 annual payment to:
Media Group 31, LLC
P.O. Box 21
Scottville, MI 49454
Please include your name, mailing address, email address and telephone number so we can activate your subscription.
Subscription payments must be received before service is activated.
Whether you choose to subscribe or continue enjoying our free content, thank you for reading Mason County Press and Oceana County Press. Your readership—and your support—helps ensure that independent local journalism remains available to everyone in our communities.
This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2026 by Media Group 31, LLC, P.O. Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. All rights reserved. No portion of this story or its images may be reproduced in any form, including print, broadcast or electronic media, without the express written permission of Media Group 31, LLC.
As a news organization, Media Group 31 maintains published content as part of the public and historical record. Accordingly, stories are not removed after publication. At the editor’s discretion, stories may be updated or corrected as new information becomes available. Updates may be made by revising the original story or by publishing a follow-up story. Media Group 31, LLC reserves the right to modify this policy at any time. Please refer to our Use Policy for additional information.
.jpg)
