A Maine man has been charged in the Christmas Day 2022 death of his then-girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter.
Tyler Witham-Jordan, 29, is charged wtih intentional, knowing, or depraved indifference murder in Makinzlee Handrahan’s death, according to WCSH. He was given a $250,000 bond during his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Police were called to the girl’s home at about 7:30 a.m. on December 25, as CrimeOnline previously reported. She was not breathing and was taken to LincolnHeath’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta, where she was pronounced dead.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide, but details weren’t released until an affidavit from the chief medical examiner on Tuesday said the girl had bruises on her face, ear, head, back and stomach, with rug burns on her chin and nose, WCSH reported. Clumps of hair were missing from her head, and the autopsy showed her stomach full of blood.
A search warrant found the girl’s blood in an upstairs bathroom and in her bedroom. Investigators also found Witham-Jordan’s DNA on a broken hairbrush that also had Mackinzlee’s hair on it and his DNA underneath the toddler’s fingernails.
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According to the affidavit, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services had initiated an investigation in October 2022 after her daycare reported a scratch and bruises. Makinzlee’s mother and Witham-Jordan said she was scaratched by a cat and fell down the stairs.
In court on Tuesday, Witham-Jordan’s attorney said his client “wildly denies” the charges.
“We don’t even think there’s probable cause in this case,” Jim Howaniec said. “We think the state has a theory about what happened, and they’re fitting square pegs into round holes here.”
Howaniec also complained that it had taken 10 months to bring charges, but prosecutor Jennifer Ackerman pointed out that such investigation often take time.
“This case has been investigated for quite some time, and so the state has now decided to move on these charges,” Ackerman said. “We certainly believe there is enough to prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.”
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