A Troy mother accused in January of killing her 7-week-old son is scheduled to go on trial next week at Waldo County Superior Court in Belfast.
Miranda Hopkins, 32, pleaded not guilty to manslaughter in February, a month after investigators arrested her at her home. Police originally charged her with murder, but a grand jury later indicted her on the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Hopkins called 911 on Jan. 12 to report that her infant son, Jaxson, wasn’t responsive. A medical examination later determined that Jaxson died of blunt force injuries to the head and suffered extensive bruising, broken ribs, a broken hip and shoulder, according to court documents.
When police first questioned Hopkins, she told police she had a couple of shots of whisky with a friend over the course of the afternoon after taking Benadryl earlier in the day. She said she co-slept with the infant and woke up to a “nightmare,” according to court documents. She found the baby cold, unresponsive and covered in bruises.
Hopkins told investigators she must have “blacked out” and couldn’t remember what happened but insisted she didn’t harm Jaxson. She later told police she believed one of her other two sons, both of whom have autism, must have smothered or beaten Jaxson.
Hopkins has been out on bail since her indictment. The two boys are staying with relatives.
Manslaughter is a Class A crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
Earlier this month, Superior Court Justice Robert Murray rejected a request from Hopkins’ attorney, Laura Shaw, to admit polygraph test results as evidence in the approaching trial. Shaw said the test results revealed, with 99 percent certainty, that Hopkins was telling the truth, according to court documents.
Prosecutors opposed the motion, citing “overwhelming case law” against allowing such evidence. The judge sided with prosecutors. Maine courts generally don’t view polygraph results, or a person’s willingness to take a test, as reliable enough evidence to be presented in a trial.
Jury selection is scheduled for Thursday. There’s a chance the trial could be pushed to December, depending on how jury selection progresses, according to the court clerk’s office.
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