Inset: Braxtyn Smith. Background: Joshua Smith during his sentencing for murdering his son Braxtyn (WMTW).
The tragic case of a young boy from Maine has taken a somber turn as his parents and grandmother admitted guilt in connection to his untimely death. The 10-year-old, Braxtyn Smith, was reportedly subjected to severe neglect and abuse, resulting in him weighing only 48 pounds, as authorities revealed he was forced to consume dog food.
Joshua Smith, aged 35, confessed to the murder charge concerning his son Braxtyn’s demise on Thursday. Following suit, Braxtyn’s 63-year-old grandmother, Mistie Latourette, accepted a plea for manslaughter on Friday. Earlier in the year, his mother, 37-year-old Jem Bean, had also pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Braxtyn’s life ended on February 18, 2024, when he was taken to the hospital by his mother and grandmother. Upon arrival, his body showed numerous bruises, and a subsequent autopsy declared his death was a homicide, as he had been subject to physical abuse.
Court documents, accessed by local CBS affiliate WGME and ABC affiliate WMTW, disclosed that Braxtyn endured two years of maltreatment at his Bangor residence. At his death, he weighed a mere 48 pounds, significantly below the expected weight range for his age. The boy was found vomiting, with the emesis reportedly resembling and smelling like pet food.
Investigations by detectives revealed that Braxtyn’s parents routinely deprived him of food as a form of punishment, forcing him to resort to eating dog food.
Bean tried to blame the injuries on her son, saying he would throw himself to the ground during “temper tantrums.” But text messages reportedly said that not only did Smith beat Braxtyn, he seemed to take joy in doing so.
“Little one is super tired and I’m going to slap him already so it should be fun,” he said to Latourette in one text message.
Smith also texted with Bean about tying down their son.
“There some reason you couldn’t be bothered to zip tie everything your supposed to huh?” Smith reportedly wrote.
Bean responded: “What did I miss? I did his ankles to the tote and his hands together behind his back.”
About two years before Braxtyn’s death, his father was angry his son wasn’t completing his schoolwork.
“I’m going to kill him,” Smith texted Bean, per local NBC affiliate WCSH.
Smith claimed the text messages were “sarcasm and stuff like that.”
State officials said the abuse was not detected because the boy was homeschooled.
Prosecutors are recommending Bean serve 25 years in prison while her attorneys are asking for five to 10 years behind bars, WCSH reported. Her sentencing date has yet to be set.
Smith will be sentenced in September. It’s unclear how long a sentence he faces.