State police investigators have determined the death of 3-year-old child in Edgecomb on Christmas Day was a homicide.
In a press release issued on Wednesday, Dec. 28, Maine State Police identified the victim as Makinzlee Handrahan.
According to the Maine Department of Public Safety, the Lincoln County Communications Center received a 911 call around 7:37 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 25, reporting Handrahan not breathing, at a residence on Route 1 in Edgecomb. Handrahan was subsequently transported to LincolnHealth’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta where she was pronounced dead.
While state police detectives continue their investigation, the mother of Handrahan and the father of Handrahan’s half siblings both filed separate protection from abuse orders in Wiscasset District Court.
On Tuesday, Dec. 27, the child’s mother obtained a temporary protection from abuse order against a male individual. As the case involves allegations of domestic violence and no charges have been filed as of press time, The Lincoln County News is currently not identifying the adults involved.
In her court filing, the 30-year-old mother identifies the 29-year-old man as a dating partner and a former or present sexual partner and indicates the couple did or does live together.
In a handwritten narrative accompanying her filing, the mother said the man is “verbally, mentally, and physically abusive,” and described abusive and manipulative behavior including assault, belittling comments, and at least one threat of suicide.
“(He) would yell and scream all the time and make me feel bad for anything I said or did,” the mother said in the filing. “He would tell me all the time I wouldn’t have anything without him, told me that no one would deal with me.”
The mother expressed concern her movements were being followed by a tracking device and said she feared for her life and the lives of two children.
The court order requires the man to avoid contact with the mother, avoid their shared residence, avoid threatening or injuring a dog, and return a key to their shared residence.
The father of Handrahan’s two half-siblings was granted a temporary protection from abuse order on Thursday, Dec. 29. The order gives the father temporary custody of both children and forbids the mother from entering the father’s residence. The order does not prevent the mother from having contact with the children.
In his filing, the father specifies he took action due to the state’s ongoing homicide investigation. The father states two Maine Department of Health and Human Services caseworkers suggested to him the children would be in jeopardy and the state would likely seek custody in the event the children remained in their mother’s care.
“We are very concerned for their safety, health, and welfare under her direct care,” the father states in his filing.
A hearing in that complaint has also been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 11.
