Jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial of a Maine man charged in the Christmas Day death of his girlfriend’s toddler daughter two years ago.
Tyler Witham-Jordan is charged with indifference murder in the death of the 3-year-old, Makinzlee Handrahan, as CrimeOnline reported. He pleaded not guilty and has tried to shift the blame to the girl’s mother.
Police were called at about 7:30 a.m. on December 25, 2022, to the home where Makinzlee lived with her mother, Witham-Jordan, and three other children.
First responders found Makinzlee stiff, cold, and bruised. One EMT described her bruising as resembling a Dalmatian dog, according to a police affidavit. They rushed to Lincoln Heath’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta, where she was pronounced dead.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide, detailing that she had bruises on her face, ear, head, back and stomach, with rug burns on her chin and nose.
Clumps of hair were missing from her head, and the autopsy showed her stomach full of blood.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services investigated the family two months earlier when Makinzlee’s daycare reported a scratch and bruises. Witham-Jordan and the mother claimed the girl was scratched by a cat and fell down the stairs.
In the 911 call on the day of the girl’s death, the mother was heard saying, “Oh my god, I think my daughter’s dead,” while Witham-Jordan cries out “I’m f*****” and “I’m finished,” WGME reported.
The trial will begin when jury selection is completed.
