A Michigan mother has confessed to systematically torturing her three-year-old son to death in a harrowing case of child abuse that spanned years, court documents reveal.
The Campaign of Terror
Amanda Mae Maison, 33, admitted her role in the death of her young son Matthew Maison during a plea hearing on November 5th, 2025. The guilty plea comes seven years after the toddler's tragic death in February 2018.
Court records describe a disturbing pattern of abuse where Maison would lock her son in rooms for hours at a time, slam his head against walls, and subject him to what she described as "military time outs." The mother also enabled her then-boyfriend, Maurice Houle, to allegedly participate in the abuse.
The Tragic Discovery
Matthew Maison was found dead in his bed by babysitters on February 18th, 2018. A subsequent autopsy determined the cause of death as blunt force trauma injuries and possible suffocation.
According to St. Clair County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Sparling, the abuse included Matthew being struck across the face, locked in his room without food or water for extended periods, and an incident where Houle allegedly placed a pillow over the boy's face "and pretended like he was playing."
Concealment and Conspiracy
Maison admitted to deliberately avoiding medical appointments for her son to prevent doctors from seeing his injuries. She also confessed to participating in a scheme to conceal the true nature of Matthew's injuries from both child protective services and law enforcement.
In an official statement, police confirmed that "Amanda admitted that she willfully and wantonly allowed an environment to exist, where Matthew would be systemically abused, and that those abuses eventually resulted in Matthew's death."
The court heard that the couple had developed what authorities described as a "dark plot" to lie about how Matthew had sustained his injuries prior to his death.
Legal Proceedings and Cooperation
Maison reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that requires her to provide truthful testimony against Maurice Houle in his upcoming trial for first-degree murder, scheduled for early 2026.
Both Maison and Houle were originally charged with first-degree murder in April 2025 and initially pleaded not guilty. Maison has now pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide as part of her deal with prosecutors.
Court documents suggest the motive for the abuse stemmed from the couple's desire to "make room for a child that the two of them could have together."
Mr Sparling emphasised the severity of the case, stating: "This is an extremely serious case. We have a young child who was the victim here. This young child, Matthew, suffered years of abuse at the hands of both defendants."
