Left: Annthoni Bliss, Right: Luca Hudson (New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office).
A 22-year-old New Hampshire man stands accused of beating his girlfriend’s 23-month-old son to death when he was alone with the boy and she was grocery shopping.
Annthoni Bliss is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2024 death of Luca Hudson, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in a statement. The Keene Police Department and medical personnel responded the morning of Jan. 14, 2024, to an apartment for a young child in medical distress. They arrived to find Luca unconscious and not breathing. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital where he died three days later, just a month shy of his second birthday.
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A year-plus long investigation led to charges being filed against Bliss, who had started dating Luca’s mother about a month prior to the incident after knowing each other for several years, a probable cause arrest affidavit said. The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of death homicide.
Bliss and the boy’s mother denied doing anything to hurt Luca. Bliss had been staying at his girlfriend’s apartment along with Luca and the boy’s older brother, cops said. Detectives noted that Luca showed no signs of injury in the days leading up to his death.
Through interviews and reviewing surveillance footage, investigators believe the abuse happened the night before cops responded to the apartment when Luca’s mother made a nearly hour-long trip to the grocery store, according to the affidavit. In text messages between her and Bliss while she was out, the defendant made no mention that anything may have been amiss. He said Luca’s older brother had fallen asleep.
“How’s shopping baby,” Bliss allegedly texted her.
“going to check out now,” she responded.
“Okay my love,” Bliss texted.
Luca’s mother, who has not been charged with a crime, and Bliss initially did not tell cops that the suspect was alone with the boy. In December, he told cops that he was on the phone with his sister while his girlfriend was away, but detectives could find no evidence the two ever spoke, the affidavit said. While his sister at first said she was on the phone with Bliss, she stopped talking to law enforcement, cops said. Investigators also talked to a neighbor who lived next door who said he heard Luca crying for up to an hour around the time the boy’s mother was shopping, according to the affidavit.
After the mother returned from the store, she and Bliss spent time in their bedroom. He didn’t say anything about Luca being injured, cops said. A couple hours later, Bliss walked by Luca’s room and heard vomiting. Luca had thrown up in the crib and on his pajamas. After a shower, the boy stayed with his mother and Bliss in their bed where he complained of a headache, according to cops. His mother told cops he seemed fine otherwise.
But Bliss later said in an interview with detectives that Luca’s head felt “soft” and “squishy” to him after the shower. Investigators later found he made two internet searches around that time: “2 year old, head squishy” and “2 year old head head now swollen head squishy,” the affidavit said. Despite his concerns, he never called 911; his girlfriend did so a couple of hours later, per cops.
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Doctors noted Luca showed little signs of external injury, however internally he suffered “substantial internal bleeding” on his brain, the affidavit stated. He also suffered from hemorrhaging in both of his eyes. His brain swelled which ultimately led to his death, doctors said. Medical examiners determined there was a “complete absence of any alternative accidental explanation,” the affidavit stated. They were able to whittle down the timing of the infliction of injury to when Bliss was alone with Luca when the mother was at the store.
Cops arrested Bliss on Wednesday evening. His next court date is scheduled for April 3. He remains at the Cheshire County Jail.
Luca’s obituary described the boy.
“Luca loved turtles, dogs, coloring and watching his favorite TV show, Mickey Mouse. He also enjoyed making a lot of noise, playing catch with balls and spending time playing with his brother,” the obituary said.
