The parents and grandmother of a 10-year-old who died in Bangor, Maine, last month appeared before a judge Friday on charges in connection to the boy's death, according to News Center Maine.
Braxtyn Smith's father, 33-year-old Joshua Smith, his mother, 35-year-old Jem Bean, and grandmother, 56-year-old Mistie Latourette, were all arrested last week and charged with depraved indifference murder. All three are being held on $300,000 bail at the Penobscot County Jail.
The 10-year-old was brought to the emergency department at St. Joseph's Hospital with life-threatening injuries on the morning of Feb. 18. The hospital notified the Maine Department of Health and Human Services shortly after the child arrived, and police also began an investigation.
According to News Center Maine, court documents show the boy needed to be resuscitated there before he was brought to nearby Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, where he died from his injuries later that night.
Following an autopsy by the chief medical examiner's office, the child's manner of death was determined to be homicide.
News Center Maine reports that unsealed court documents detail abuse the boy allegedly was subjected to prior to his death.
The court affidavit states that the 10-year-old was severely underweight for his age, with hospital staff reportedly telling the investigator that the boy weighed just 48 pounds when he arrived at the hospital, and that he had multiple visible bruises on his body, face, abdomen and extremities that did not appear to be caused by accidents.
The documents also say that the boy's CT scan showed bleeding on his brain, and that family members often used zip ties to restrain him inside the home.
Joshua Smith, Jem Bean, and Mistie Latourette did not enter pleas at their arraignment on Friday, and the judge ordered them to have no communication with each other or with another child of Smith and Bean's, according to News Center Maine. The next court date in this case has not yet been scheduled.
