A motion by defense attorneys to suppress statements a Troy mother made to police after the death of her infant son in January is scheduled to be heard in court at the end of this month.
Miranda Hopkins, 32, is charged with manslaughter in connection with the death of 7-week-old Jaxson Hopkins. Her lawyer, Laura Shaw, said the motion to exclude as evidence all comments Hopkins made to police during the investigation that followed the Jan. 12 death of the infant is due to be heard Aug. 31 in Waldo County Superior Court in Belfast.
Hopkins originally was charged with knowing or depraved indifference murder, punishable by 25 years to life in prison. She was indicted by a Waldo County grand jury in February on a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Manslaughter is a class A felony, as is a charge of murder, but it carries a lesser penalty. It’s punishable by a period of time in prison not to exceed 30 years. An indictment is not a finding of guilt, but is a determination by the grand jury that there’s enough evidence in a case to proceed with trial.
Hopkins called 911 on Jan. 12 from her trailer home, saying her baby was unresponsive. The infant, who was born Nov. 21, was pronounced dead at the scene. Hopkins lived at 211 North Dixmont Road with Jaxson and two other sons.
In a police affidavit filed with the court, the cause of the baby’s 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.
“Miranda is not guilty of manslaughter, just as she is not guilty of murder,” Shaw said after the indictment in February.
Hopkins allegedly told authorities she had awakened to find her baby cold, white and “beat to hell.” The infant was pronounced dead at the scene. Hopkins lived with Jaxson and two other sons, ages 6 and 8, who both have autism, she told police.
In interviews with police, Hopkins allegedly said the older boy possibly crawled into bed and crushed or suffocated the baby.
But Hopkins allegedly also told police she must have “blacked out” and was “so drunk that she did not remember,” saying she had drunk whiskey and ingested the antihistamine drug Benadryl, according to a police affidavit filed with the court.
Hopkins was arrested by Maine State Police on Jan. 13 at her mobile home in Troy. Police allege the infant had died the previous day.
Hopkins contends in court documents that one or both of her boys might have caused the death of their infant brother, possibly by crushing the child while rolling over in bed.
But police and the state prosecutor offer a different picture of the events of Jan. 12, using Hopkins’ own admission that she had been drinking.
According to her Facebook page, which apparently has been taken down, Hopkins attended Mount View High School in Thorndike and is a single mother. Last March, she posted a notice about developing a Facebook group for people “personally affected by a Special Needs child” that would be a “judgment free safe zone.”
Hopkins was released on $50,000 worth of property bail and has been ordered not to use or possess alcohol or illegal drugs. She is subject to random searches and testing. She is allowed to visit her two sons under bail conditions.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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