BELFAST, Maine (AP) — The grandmother of a 3-year-old boy whose mother is charged with murder in his death is also facing charges for having allegedly concealed her daughter’s location from police.
Sherry Johnson was charged on June 30 with allegedly lying to police about where her daughter Jessica Trefethen was, the Bangor Daily News reported on Tuesday.
The two women on June 20 had brought 3-year-old Maddox Williams to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later determined that Maddox died from blunt force trauma.
Johnson, 52, initially told police she had dropped Trefethen, 35, off at a public pier after leaving the hospital, but later admitted that they had in fact been together.
On June 23, police said Johnson told them she did not know where her daughter was but then revealed she was at home with her in Stockton Springs. Trefethen was arrested the same day and appeared in court on June 25 to face charges. She did not enter a plea at that hearing.
It is not clear if Johnson entered a plea. A judge set bail for $2,000 and ordered her not to have contact with her daughter and several other people. Johnson could face up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted of concealing a person, the newspaper reported.
It is not clear if Johnson has an attorney who can speak for her.
Maddox was one of four children who died within a month in the state, which prompted a state lawmaker has called on the legislature to investigate the deaths. The state’s child protection services has been under intense scrutiny and saw many reforms put in place after the deaths of two girls in 2017 and 2018.
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