BELFAST — Miranda Hopkins, the 32-year-old woman from Troy charged with murder in connection with the killing of her infant son, allegedly told authorities that one of her autistic children might have smothered or crushed the baby to death, according to newly released court documents.
But she changed her story to police as well, allegedly conceding that she was too drunk to remember what happened.
In a police affidavit filed with the court, the baby’s cause of death is listed as blunt force head injuries that included cuts and bruises on the head and skull, rib fractures, and bleeding on the surface of the brain.
Hopkins is charged with knowing or depraved indifference murder, punishable by 25 years to life in prison.
Hopkins told authorities she didn’t know exactly what happened to her 7-week-old son, Jaxson, telling police she must have “blacked out,” according to the affidavit. She further described herself as being “so drunk that she did not remember,” saying she had drunk whiskey and ingested the antihistamine drug Benadryl, according to the affidavit written by Detective Jason Andrews.
The release of the documents came the same day that Hopkins made an initial appearance in Belfast District Court on a charge of murder. Hopkins, of 211 North Dixmont Road in Troy, who lived at the brown mobile home with her three children, was arrested Friday by Maine State Police on a charge that she had murdered her 7-week-old son.
Hopkins was brought into the courtroom by a Waldo County sheriff’s deputy shortly after 3:30 Tuesday; she was handcuffed and in leg irons, wearing dark prison garb and orange shoes. Justice Robert Murray presided over the hearing.
Murray appointed lawyer Christopher MacLean, of Camden Law, as her attorney.
Police said Hopkins called 911 Thursday morning from her trailer home, saying her baby, Jaxson Hopkins, was unresponsive, according to Maine State Police.
In the affidavit, Hopkins allegedly told authorities she had awakened to find her baby cold, white and “beat to hell.” The infant, who was born Nov. 21, was pronounced dead at the scene. Hopkins lived with Jaxson and two other sons, ages 6 and 8, who are both autistic, she told police. Those boys are now with relatives.
In interviews with police, Hopkins said the older boy, who is 8, possibly crawled into bed and crushed or suffocated the baby.
Meanwhile, Heather Gillen, 36, of Bucksport, a friend of Hopkins for 14 years, said in an interview Tuesday that Hopkins loved her three boys and never would hurt them.
“She is an amazing person and a wonderful loving mom,” Gillen said by phone.
According to her Facebook page, Hopkins attended Mount View High School in Thorndike and is a single mother. Last March, she posted about developing a Facebook group for people “personally affected by a Special Needs child” that would be a “judgment free safe zone.”
Gillen said Hopkins’ two other sons are autistic, but Hopkins knows how to take good care of them.
“I do not know what could have happened to the baby,” she said. “She was overjoyed to have her third son. She loves all three of them with all of her heart. I can’t fathom her harming any of her children. She is protective over all three of them.”
The initial emergency call came at 1:47 a.m. Thursday to the Waldo County Communications Center. A sheriff’s deputy arrived and found the baby “covered” with bruises, according to court affidavit. The infant was cold to the touch and not breathing.
Hopkins first told police that the previous evening had been normal, and that she had had dinner with her cousin Rachel Carleton and her daughter, who she said left about 8 p.m. The two older boys went to sleep in their own rooms and Hopkins said she went to bed with Jaxson, her baby. She told police the baby was “warm and breathing at 10:30 p.m.”
She said she did a “mommy check” during the night and found nothing out of the ordinary. Family members were interviewed by police and said Hopkins was not into hard drugs or heavy use of alcohol — though they said she did have a medical marijuana card — and was not prone to violent episodes.
Her story soon began to unravel, according to the affidavit, as Hopkins conceded to police that she had drunk shots of whiskey that night. She also said that she never performed the “mommy check” that night, as she had previously stated. She said she had become “dizzy or spinny” and had lain on one of the older boys’ beds and felt she had passed out.
She told police she doesn’t remember what happened next, only that she woke up to “hell,” finding her baby cold and dead in the bed.
She described herself as being “so drunk that she did not remember,” according to the court document.
A bail hearing has been set for 1 p.m. Monday at Waldo County District Court. She is being held without bail at the Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset until the hearing.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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