Father of slain 3-year-old had boy with him when he allegedly burglarized apartment last year
Jun. 25—The father of Maddox Williams, the 3-year-old Maine child who was allegedly killed earlier this week by his mother, brought the child with him when he allegedly broke into a Rockland home last year.
Maddox's father, 30-year-old Andrew Williams of Warren, was charged with burglary, theft, endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of drug possession stemming from the Jan. 28, 2020, burglary, This is one of several cases he has pending in Knox County court.
The January 2020 case gives a small glimpse into the life of Maddox, who died Sunday after his mother, 35-year-old Jessica Trefethen, brought him to Waldo County General Hospital in Belfast. She has been charged with murder. A medical examiner ruled the child died from blunt force trauma.
Andrew Williams raised Maddox for the "first two years of his life," according to court documents filed in Knox County court this week.
On Jan. 28, 2020, Rockland police were called to a duplex on Beech Street, where the resident reported that a man had broken into the home and was stealing items while carrying a young child.
Police arrived and found Andrew Williams with Maddox. The elder Williams told police that he was there for an open house he saw listed.
He told police he heard a dog barking when he knocked on the door and that his son loves dogs. So when he heard the dog barking, Maddox "reached up and opened the door and walked in to play with the dog," according to the affidavit filed by Rockland Police Officer Jeff Aeschlimann.
The affidavit paints a picture of a challenging life for the young boy. Andrew Williams told police that he had just lost his apartment and "was looking for a place to stay because he needed to feed his son dinner and put him to bed," according to the affidavit.
The resident of the apartment told police that he was upstairs working from home when he heard a child crying or screaming. He figured it was coming from his neighbor's side of the duplex until his neighbor called to tell him a man was outside of the home with his golf clubs.
When the resident went downstairs, he found Andrew Williams in his living room holding "a box containing speakers, another box and a bottle of cleaning fluid in his arm and a small child in the other arm," Rockland Police Detective Joel Neal wrote in a report filed in Knox County court.
Police found numerous items allegedly taken from the residence both around, and inside of, the stroller Andrew Williams was using, according to court documents.
Neal called the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to have a caseworker come to the scene to take care of Maddox while police were investigating.
"At a minimum, I firmly believed the child was not being properly cared for and was not dressed appropriately to be out in the cold being strolled around town by [Andrew] Williams, who I believe was impaired by some type of drug at the time," Neal said in his report.
Andrew Williams, who has been held at the Knox County Jail since April, is requesting that he be released for a period of 30 days to "grieve with his family and to make arrangements for his son," according to court documents. It is not clear which case Andrew Williams is being held on at present.
A bail modification hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday in Knox County Court.
Editor's note: An earlier version referred to Maddox Williams' mother as Jessica Williams. She requested in court to be referred to as Jessica Trefethen. This story has been updated to reflect that.
