Maine mum who caused toddler's death by abuse was protected by own mother

A Maine mum who caused her toddler's death by abuse and tried the cover his injuries with temporary tattoos, was protected from the police for a while by her own mother, who is now facing criminal charges for her actions.

Sherry Johnson, grandmother of Maddox Williams, the 3-year-old boy who was beaten to death last month allegedly by his own mother, has also been charged in the case. According to a report in People magazine, Johnson was arrested on June 30 and charged with hindering the apprehension or prosecution of her daughter, Maddox's mother, Jessica Trefethen.

Maine State Police said that Johnson, 59, allegedly lied to investigators on June 23 about Trefethen's whereabouts. She told the authorities that she had dropped her daughter off at a boat launch in Searsport in the hours after Maddox's death. However, surveillance footage revealed that Johnson's car was never in the area.

Johnson later changed her statement and said that she had dropped Trefethen off at her home in Bucksport. After further interrogation, she acknowledged that she had kept her daughter inside her home. She has been charged for aiding her daughter, and a judge has ordered her to have no contact with the accused.

Trefethen, 35, has been in custody since June 23, three days after Maddox died. She has yet to enter a plea to the single count of murder filed against her. She has posted $2,000 bail for her release.

Maddox died on June 20 from blunt force trauma. An autopsy showed the abused boy suffered massive internal bleeding caused by a ruptured bowel. He also had a fractured spine, bleeding on the brain, and bruises on his arms, legs and head, which were covered with temporary stick-on tattoos.

When his mother took him to the emergency room, she told the staff that the toddler had been knocked to the ground by a dog leash and kicked by his 8-year-old sister. She also told the authorities that "she had no idea" how her son would have acquired such injuries, except that "he bruised very easily and her kids play wild and crazy."

However, the medical examiner told the police that the boy's injuries were "too severe to be caused by kids playing, falling from a trampoline, or being knocked down by a puppy."