The mother of a 3-year-old boy and her former boyfriend were bound over to circuit court on murder charges related to his death after a preliminary examination Tuesday.
District Court Judge John Monaghan found there was enough evidence to proceed with first-degree murder charges against Amanda Maison, 33, and Maurice Houle, 28, for the 2018 death of Matthew Maison.
Monaghan said both defendants had made statements to St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office detectives saying they had seen the other physically abusing Matthew Maison and saying they wished they had stepped in to stop it.
Matthew Maison was found dead in his bed by Houle’s mother the morning on Feb. 19, 2018 when she attempted to wake him up for the day. An autopsy report filed in 2021 concluded his death was a homicide caused by blunt force trauma and mechanical asphyxiation.
The case appeared to have gone cold with no arrests until April when the sheriff’s office announced it had arrested Amanda Maison and Houle after conducting new interviews with each of them.
St. Clair County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Joshua Sparling called two witnesses in the case: Lt. Steven Rickert, who began the initial investigation in 2018 when he was a detective, and Detective Timothy O’Donnell, who took over the case when Rickert was promoted in 2020 and interviewed the defendants in April.
Rickert said he arrived at the Maison residence at around 10 a.m. the day of Matthew’s death. While investigating, he noticed several injuries on the boy, including bruises and a black eye. He also learned Amanda Maison’s father, David Maison, had reported the couple to Child Protective Services after learning of previous injuries his grandson suffered, prompting the couple to break off contact with him.
In one incident, Rickert uncovered from CPS reports Amanda Maison reportedly saw Houle hit Matthew Maison hard after he spilled some food while eating. Amanda Maison called her father, who in turn contacted Child Protective Services. When an investigator went to the residence, however, Amanda Maison claimed she had overreacted and that Houle had not hit her son that hard.
Rickert testified he found several red flags, including claims by Houle that Matthew Maison’s injuries were caused by him falling or rough playing, an excuse commonly given in child abuse investigations. There were reportedly dents in the home’s walls
The couple also reportedly changed their stories multiple times. Amanda Maison reportedly told Rickert in 2018 she would have heard anything happening in her son’s room because her door was open, but later said she couldn’t hear because she had two fans on.
Houle reportedly told Rickert in 2018 Amanda Maison handled the child care and discipline, though he later admitted he would make Matthew Maison do “military time-outs” where he had to face a wall on his knees with his hands on his head. Houle reportedly also suggested that Matthew Maison suffocated by choking on food, or that someone could have broken in and killed him.
Rickert was present when Houle was arrested seven years later. He testified that Houle struggled against officers and that he had to be stopped with a Taser.
When O’Donnell questioned the defendants in April they both made new allegations against each other, saying they had witnessed abuse by the other.
O’Donnell also said both defendants separately told him they had seen the other try to smother Matthew with a pillow in incidents before his death.
O’Donnell said Amanda Maison told him she heard a commotion from her son’s room one day and went to see what was happening. She reportedly said she found Houle holding a pillow over Matthew’s face while he slept. When she asked what he was doing, Houle reportedly stopped.
O’Donnell told the court Houle said he was never involved with disciplining Matthew, and said Matthew would sometimes scream for no apparent reason. He said Amanda Maison would hold a pillow over his face during these incidents, making it difficult for him to breathe.
Amanda Maison admitted she had covered up Matthew’s poor care and cancelled his appointments with doctors because she was afraid any medical professional who saw him would call Child Protective Services again, the detective said.
After his half-brother was born, Matthew Maison’s care reportedly declined as Houle reportedly prioritized his own son, according to O’Donnell’s testimony. Amanda Maison said the family struggled financially to care for two children and that Houle saw her first son as little more than an extra mouth to feed.
At some point the couple discussed having a daughter, but Amanda Maison told O’Donnell that when she became pregnant they mutually agreed to have an abortion because they could not afford a third child.
Defense attorney Sharon Parrish, who represents Amanda Maison, objected to this detail being brought up in court, arguing its prejudicial against her client. Sparling did not dispute her argument, but said the value as evidence outweighed any prejudice because it showed how the couple saw Matthew as holding them back from having another child.
During her interview with O’Donnell, Amanda Maison reportedly said she knew her son was murdered by Houle and that Houle later asked her to “take the fall” and confess to protect him.
When Houle spoke to O’Donnell, he admitted Matthew had been underfed, to the point his grandparents would bring him Pediasure out of concern for his lack of growth.
Houle reportedly portrayed himself as being uninvolved with the kids, saying Amanda Maison handled the discipline. He claimed he saw her hit Matthew’s head into the wall and drag him by his ankles screaming.
During cross examination Parrish and public defense attorney Jennifer Rutkowski asked Rickert and O’Donnell why the autopsy report wasn’t filed until 2021. Neither could testify to why the report came out so long after Matthew’s death, but said a variety of factors could affect how long it takes.
Rutkowski also asked if Rickert told Amanda Maison her Miranda rights when he questioned her in 2018, to which he said he had not. Sparling established on redirect, however, that she was told she did not have to answer questions if she did not want to by both a prosecutor and her own defense attorney.
Parrish asked O’Donnell if he thought Amanda Maison might be intimidated by Houle, given his alleged abuse, and asked if she said she was manipulated by Houle.
“If he were to be angry around my client, wouldn’t you say it would be intimidating?” Parrish asked, to which O’Donnell said yes.
Both Parrish and Rutkowski argued there was not enough evidence tying their clients specifically to Matthew Maison’s death to proceed with the case.
“This is a case where a crime has been committed, but it has not been established that Mr. Houle committed it,” Rutkowski said.
Sparling countered that the pattern of abuse found during the investigation was enough to establish probable cause.
No date has been set for either defendant’s first appearance in circuit court. First degree murder is punishable with up to life in prison.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at jhogan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Port Huron Times Herald: Mother, ex-boyfriend bound to circuit court in 3-year-old’s 2018 death in Port Huron Twp.
Reporting by Johnathan Hogan, Port Huron Times Herald / Port Huron Times Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
