Bangor father pleads guilty to murder of 10-year-old son
A Bangor man has pleaded guilty to murder in connection with the death of his 10-year-old son.
Joshua Smith, 35, entered the plea Thursday morning, according to a spokesperson for the Office of the Maine Attorney General. The office declined to comment further, and Smith’s attorneys did not immediately respond to a request to discuss the case.
Smith was one of three relatives who were arrested and charged with depraved indifference murder in 2024 in connection with the death of 10-year-old Braxtyn Smith.
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The boy’s mother, 37-year-old Jem Beam, pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in February.
His grandmother Mistie Latourette has pleaded not guilty to murder. Prosecutors and her attorneys are scheduled to meet with a judge Friday morning, according to a courthouse clerk, and her case could still go to a bench trial next week.
Braxtyn suffered months of abuse before Beam and Latourette took him to an emergency room on the morning of Feb. 18, 2024, according to a report by Bangor police Detective Shannon Farrar.
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Braxtyn lived with both of his parents and a sibling, whose name and age is redacted from Farrar’s affidavit. Farrar wrote that Braxtyn was homeschooled.
Medical staff at the emergency room told police that the boy was bruised all over, malnourished and underweight for his age, Farrar wrote. They said he was vomiting what appeared to be dry pet food.
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Braxtyn died that night after he was moved to another hospital’s pediatric unit. The deputy chief medical examiner ruled his death a homicide and reported that his injuries appeared consistent with battered child syndrome.
Farrar wrote that Braxtyn’s autopsy revealed burn marks and bruises, as well as signs of sexual abuse.
Latourette’s attorney Christopher MacLean said Thursday that his client was not directly accused of physical abuse against Braxtyn. She admitted to buying zip ties and said she was aware Braxtyn’s parents used them to restrain him, according to the affidavit.
Latourette told police that Braxtyn was “Gibbs slapped” as discipline, apparently referencing a TV show character known for hitting other characters on the back of the head. She had also suggested to Joshua Smith that he withhold food from his son “as a means of punishment.”
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Tagged: bangor, child death, court, penobscot county
Emily Allen covers courts for the Portland Press Herald. It's her favorite beat so far — before moving to Maine in 2022, she reported on a wide range of topics for public radio in West Virginia and was. More by Emily Allen
