The mother of a 10-year-old boy from Bangor pleaded guilty to manslaughter in her son’s death Friday morning.

Braxtyn Smith died nearly two years ago after what authorities have described as months of abuse. His parents, Jem Bean and Joshua Smith, as well as his grandmother Mistie Latourette, were all charged with depraved indifference murder.

Bean, his mother, appeared in Penobscot County Superior Court on Friday morning. In tears, she pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. She awaits sentencing; a date was not set in court Friday, and her attorney did not respond to calls or emails seeking comment after the hearing.

Prosecutors said during the hearing that Bean told police that she’d seen Smith assaulting Braxtyn several times in the weeks leading up to his death.

“It’s the state’s position that no reasonable mother would have permitted or participated in the abuse of a 10-year-old son that she described and that the other defendants described,” Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbin said during the hearing.

Prosecutors say Braxtyn wasn’t breathing when he was taken to the hospital on Feb. 18, 2024.

Medical staff reported that Braxtyn was underweight and appeared to have hair loss, bruising, abrasions and burns. They said his vomit suggested he had eaten pet food. There was also evidence he may have been sexually assaulted, prosecutors said.

According to court documents, Braxtyn endured months of being zip-tied to doorknobs and chairs and had been forced to sleep in the bathroom. His family is also accused of withholding food from him as a form of punishment.

Police believe the abuse began when Braxtyn was 9, according to an affidavit for his parents’ arrest. Braxtyn lived with his parents and one sibling, according to court records, and was homeschooled.

Braxtyn’s injuries had not come to the attention of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services or other authorities because he was homeschooled, “so no one beyond his mother, father and grandmother knew the extent of the abuse,” Robbin said Friday.

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner reported that his injuries were consistent with battered child syndrome. The office determined his death was caused by an acute head injury.

“But that injury was in the context of prolonged abuse that was also killing Braxtyn,” Robbin said Friday. “Prolonged abuse made him more prone to infection, and for organ failure. He was also suffering from severe malnutrition.

“Jem Bean’s participation in the abuse and failure to protect her son caused his death.”

Smith and Latourette have pleaded not guilty to depraved indifference murder and are tentatively scheduled to go to trial in March, according to the Maine attorney general’s office.