The nurse who worked for more than an hour to attempt to revive Maddox Williams testified Wednesday in the murder trial of his mother.
The nurse became emotional when shown Maddox’s photos in court. Photos showed a naked, emaciated child with a temporary tattoo on his forehead and bruises on his arms and groin. His belly appeared distended, or swollen, according to the Bangor Daily News.
His mother, Jessica Trefethen, formerly known as Jessica Williams, is charged with murder in connection with the beating death of the little boy.
Authorities say her son, Maddox, suffered severe injuries while in her care last year at their Stockton Springs home. He died at a local hospital.
Maine State Police say Maddox died in June 2021 after his mom and grandmother brought him to Waldo General Hospital. Maddox was unable to breathe when his mother sought medical help at the emergency room.
According to court records, Maddox’s mother told hospital staff the boy had been knocked down by a dog leash and kicked by his 8-year-old sister, but the Medical Examiner’s Office found his injuries were not consistent with that and ruled the death a homicide.
Trefethen reportedly stayed at the hospital 10 minutes after Maddox was pronounced dead. Prosecutors say she then went into hiding to avoid police.
They also say she emptied her bank account and stopped using her phone to avoid investigators.
“The defendant emptied her bank account and stopped using her cell phone. You will hear her admit she stopped using her credit or debit card because she knew that information would be used by law enforcement to find her,” Assistant Attorney General John Risler said.
The medical examiner said Maddox suffered multiple blunt force traumas, including bruises all over his body, a fractured spine, bleeding in his brain and abdomen, and three teeth that had been knocked out.
The medical examiner ruled that Maddox died from "battered child syndrome".
As authorities were arresting Trefethen, she reportedly said, “Let’s do this.”
According to the BDN, Maddox’s older half-sister told the jury that her mother slapped Maddox in the face and “threw him” from a New Hampshire motel bathroom onto a hard floor. She also testified that she had seen her mother slap Maddox in the face more than once.
The BDN reports Maddox’s older half-sister said that while on a family vacation in New Hampshire around Easter in 2021, the family stayed in a motel. After the mother gave the boy a bath, Trefethen allegedly “threw” him out the bathroom door. She assumed her mother was angry because Maddox “had pooped in the tub,” as he had done before, according to the Bangor Daily News.
The defense claims Trefethen was a grieving mother who wanted to be alone. The defense also argues police did not investigate anyone other than Trefethen.
If convicted, Trefethen faces 25 years to life in prison.
The trial will continue Thursday.
Maddox had been in his paternal grandmother’s care, but DHHS returned the child to Trefethen before he was killed.