A Maine man accused of murdering a toddler is reportedly shifting blame to the child’s mother, something prosecutors described as “character assassination,” according to the Portland Press-Herald.
Tyler Witham-Jordan, 30, appeared in Lincoln County Superior Court on Tuesday for a hearing focused on evidence requests ahead of his December trial.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Witham-Jordan is charged with depraved indifference murder in the death of 3-year-old Makinzlee Handrahan in December 2022. He has pleaded not guilty.
His defense team asked the judge to restrict testimony from specific witnesses and dismiss claims of previous misconduct.
Superior Court Justice Daniel Billings denied most defense requests but advised prosecutors to be cautious when presenting certain evidence to the jury.
Police were called to the girl’s home at about 7:30 a.m. on December 25, 2023, in response to an unresponsive toddler. At the time, Witham-Jordan lived with Lewis and four children in their Edgecomb home.
First responders found Makinzlee stiff, cold, and bruised. One EMT described her bruising as resembling a “Dalmatian,” 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.
“Makinzlee’s body was covered in bruises. Her stomach was full of blood. Her hair was pulled out of her head,” the report stated, according to ABC 8.
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.
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services previously initiated an investigation in October 2022 after the child’s daycare reported a scratch and bruises. Makinzlee’s mother and Witham-Jordan claimed she was scratched by a cat and fell down the stairs.
In court, attorney James Howaniec said that Lewis gave inconsistent statements, referring back to the 2022 DHHS incident. Howaniec said Lewis sought a psychiatric evaluation around the time of the incident, and questioned whether it was related to Makinzlee’s death.
“Ms. Lewis is clearly an alternate suspect in this case,” Howaniec said. “We believe Ms. Lewis perpetrated this homicide.”
Lewis, who has not been charged with her daughter’s death, later filed for a protection from abuse order against the defendant, calling him “verbally, mentally and physically abusive.”
“It is Tyler Witham-Jordan that is solely responsible for the death of Makinzlee Handrahan,” Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Ackerman told the court. “This attempt is merely an attempt to slander her and attack her during trial.”
Prosecutors argued that Witham-Jordan, while in opioid withdrawal and frustrated with Lewis’ children, killed Makinzlee between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning 2023.
Investigators discovered Witham-Jordan’s DNA on a broken hairbrush containing a large clump of Makinzlee’s hair. His DNA was also found in the waistband of her diaper and beneath her fingernails, suggesting a struggle.
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[Feature Photo: Makinzlee Handrahan; Facebook/Tyler Witham-Jordan;Two Bridges Regional Jail]
