Defendant’s mother back on stand for daughter’s murder trial in death of son

BELFAST, Maine (WABI) - Testimony continued Friday in the trial of a Stockton Springs woman accused of killing her 3-year-old son.

The defendant’s mother was back on the stand Friday morning.

Jessica Trefethen, 36, is charged with the murder of Maddox Williams.

Friday morning her mother, Sherry Johnson, testified she witnessed her daughter’s six- and eight-year-old children punch, push and hit Maddox.

Johnson said they frequently told him he was not their brother.

The state also called Trefethen’s friend, Matthew Moulton, to the stand.

He testified he drove her from her mother’s home to another friend’s house where he dropped her off the day after Maddox died.

Moulton also testified he did not tell the detectives the truth the first time they questioned him.

The state played a recording of Trefethen being interviewed by detectives.

During the recording, the detective informed Trefethen her son’s cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma, and that the toddler’s lower spine was fractured.

Trefethen said she had no idea how he got the injuries and that she has never put her hands on her children.

She said during the recording that Maddox came back from his father’s house with a bruise on his forehead and missing his two front teeth.

Trefethen also said on the recording that she was seven months pregnant at the time.

The defense attorney for Trefethen said she is innocent.

“I don’t think that there’s been anything that shows that Jessica did any of this. Jessica is innocent. And as the evidence comes in, it will consistently show that one of the things that you heard in my opening statement and throughout this is that the state decided that it was Jessica pretty much the moment that Maddox entered that hospital and didn’t do an investigation into anyone else or anything else,” said Caitlin Smith.

The trial will continue next week.

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