Tyler Witham-Jordan stands during a brief afternoon break at the Sagadahoc County Courthouse in Bath on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Witham-Jordan is accused of depraved indifference murder in the death of 3-year-old Makinzlee Handrahan. (Bisi Cameron Yee photo)
Opening statements and testimony began Tuesday, Feb. 17 in a second trial for the death of 3-year-old Makinzlee Handrahan, of Edgecomb.
Tyler Witham-Jordan, 31, the boyfriend of Handrahan’s mother, Faith Lewis, stands accused of depraved indifference murder.
As previously reported in The Lincoln County News, emergency medical services were first called to the home Handrahan shared with her mother, two half-siblings, and Witham-Jordan off Route 1 in Edgecomb after the 3-year-old was discovered unresponsive in her bed before 7:37 a.m. Dec. 25, 2022. After determining that Handrahan was deceased, her body was transported to MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital’s Miles Campus in Damariscotta.
An autopsy the following day identified extensive bruising on Handrahan’s body, abrasions on her face, and internal bleeding in her skull and abdomen. Maine Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Liam Funte determined the cause of death was “homicide caused by nonaccidental blunt force trauma.”
Witham-Jordan was arrested in connection with her death in October 2023.
A December 2024 trial at the Lincoln County Superior Court in Wiscasset was declared a mistrial after Lewis broke down on the stand when presented with autopsy photos of her daughter’s body. The case was subsequently moved to Sagadahoc County.
State prosecutor Lia Bogue previewed her case for the newly seated jury, focusing on the extensive bruising and signs of violence found on Handrahan’s body as well as DNA evidence and numerous text messages between the defendant and Lewis in the hours leading up to the toddler’s death.
“Her injuries were screaming when her silent voice could not,” Bogue said.
Defense attorney Jim Howaniec laid out a narrative that offered Lewis as an alternative suspect in the crime. He also referenced the text messages, but as important evidence that would support Witham-Jordan’s innocence.
He contrasted Witham-Jordan’s behavior with that of Lewis, who he described as prone to “mental breakdowns” severe enough to cause her to seek medication and he urged the jury to pay close attention to fluctuations in Lewis’ statements about the night of Handrahan’s death.
Members of the Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service in Damariscotta were the first emergency responders on the scene and three members, Service including Chief Nick Bryant, provided details about the morning Handrahan’s body was found. All three testified that they heard loud yelling and cursing upon arrival.
Based on the volatility at the scene, Bryant decided to remove Handrahan from the apartment for treatment in the ambulance where he found her to be “beyond resuscitative care.”
Two members of the Maine State Police Evidence Response Team walked the jury through the evidence collection and described specific details shown in photographs taken at the scene, including a broken hair brush with a large clump of hair caught in the bristles as well as a number of items including a T-shirt, a towel, and a diaper with “red-brown staining” that can be indicative of blood.
Maine Superior Court Justice Dan Billings ended the day by instructing the jury to avoid news accounts of the trial and to refrain from any discussion of testimony.
The trial is expected to last approximately two weeks.
