The Evil in Jessica Trefethen: Mother viciously abuses and kills son, 3, tries to blame his sister and dog
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STOCKTON SPRINGS, MAINE: A woman reportedly found guilty of pitilessly abusing and killing her three-year-old son, may now spend at least 25 years behind bars. She was unanimously found guilty of one count of depraved indifference murder on Tuesday, October 18. The jury is said to have reached its decision relatively quickly after only about an hour of deliberation.
According to Law&Crime, Jessica Trefethen, 36, is facing a sentence of at least 25 years up to life imprisonment for the death of her son, Maddox, on June 20, 2021. Maddox had suffered abuse for a large portion of his short lifetime and died as a result of blunt force trauma.
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On June 20, 2021, Maddox was declared dead at Waldo County General Hospital. His autopsy revealed that he died with a fractured spine, numerous bruises, deep tissue bruises and internal bleeding in addition to other injuries. The deputy chief medical examiner for the state of Maine, Dr Liam Funte, claimed that a blunt force injury to his abdomen caused his death, and that this injury was consistent with battered-child syndrome. Trefethen insisted that Maddox's injuries were brought on by being kicked by his elder sister, and being seized and dragged by a dog leash into a rock.
Dr Funte also said that some of Maddox's injuries were not as recent as others, like his two missing front teeth and multiple other injuries in various stages of healing, giving clear indications that Maddox had been physically abused. The hospital employees said that Maddox was not breathing when he was brought to the emergency room and the staff tried to resuscitate him for over an hour, in vain.
Trefethen was arrested on June 23, 2021, three days after Maddox was pronounced dead at the hospital. The trial began on October 5 at the Waldo County Judicial Center. The jury consisted of 10 men and six women, four of which were alternates. Following closing arguments, the jurors reportedly only needed about an hour to deliberate before returning with a guilty verdict.
Sherry Johnson, Trefethen's mother, was charged with obstruction in the case for allegedly aiding her daughter in hiding her location from the police after Maddox's death. Johnson reportedly told the police that she knew her daughter would be arrested shortly after Maddox's death and that she understood it was wrong to try to stop them from finding Trefethen.
