A Port Huron-area mother has pleaded guilty in the 2018 killing of her 3-year-old son after admitting to pushing the boy's head into a wall and allowing her then-boyfriend to abuse the child to make way for the child they planned to have together.
Amanda Mae Maison, 33, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Wednesday in 31st Circuit Court in Port Huron. As part of a plea agreement, she also agreed to testify against her ex-boyfriend, Maurice Houle, 28, who faces a first-degree murder charge in the killing, the St. Clair County Sheriff's Office said.
According to online court records, a first-degree murder charge against Maison will be dismissed when she returns to court for sentencing.
The three-year-old, Matthew Maison, was killed in on Feb. 18, 2018 at his home in Port Huron Township, authorities said. The investigation began when the boy was found dead in his bed by babysitters. However, no arrests were made until April 11, following what the Sheriff's Office called "significant recent developments" in the case.
Authorities said Amanda Maison had been dating Houle for two years and the boyfriend had abused her son throughout their relationship. She "willfully and wantonly" allowed the abuse to take place and also took part in it, having pushed her young son's head into a wall as part of what authorities called a "military time out."
The alleged abuse included locking up the child without food and water and suffocating the child with a pillow over his head, prosecutors said. After the boy's death, his mother helped Houle develop a plan to conceal the manner of his death from law enforcement, officials said.
According to St. Clair County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Sparling, the couple abused and killed Matthew in a bid to "make room for a child that the two of them could have together."
Amanda Maison remains behind bars at the St. Clair County Jail, where she awaits sentencing. According to online court records, her sentencing hearing will not be scheduled until Houle's trial is completed.
In Michigan, a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence. Second-degree murder is punishable by any number of years up to life.
