BUTLER TWP — Charges against a 12-year-old boy’s mother and stepfather accused of endangering the boy by waving a knife around and shoving him were dismissed at a preliminary hearing Thursday, June 4.

Hannah Mitchell, 40, was charged April 7 with one misdemeanor count each of child endangerment, reckless endangerment and simple assault, and Chad Mitchell, 47, was charged with one misdemeanor count each of child endangerment and simple assault.

The boy had been living in Ohio while the case progressed, but assistant district attorney J.P. Kulzer said his testimony against his mother and stepfather was required for the charges to proceed.

The boy was subpoenaed, but contact was never made, Kulzer said.

In a Nov. 6 interview with the boy at the Butler County Children’s Advocacy Center, he told investigators Hannah Mitchell was waiving a knife around during an argument with Chad Mitchell.

The boy said he tried to move her backward toward a door and away from Chad Mitchell when he felt the knife go across his arm, according to charging documents.

The district attorney’s office has the right to refile the charges after District Judge Kevin O’Donnell dismissed them.

The incident with the knife occurred two weeks before the first day of school in August 2025, police said.

During the Nov. 6 interview, the boy also said Chad Mitchell shoved him multiple times into a metal and wooden chair because he didn’t want him to leave the table during breakfast on Oct. 15, leaving him with multiple bruises on his leg, according to charging documents.

Chad Mitchell told police he grabbed the boy to try to get him to sit in the chair, police said.

John Shaffer, the attorney for the Mitchells, declined to comment.