Edgecomb man charged with murder in toddler’s Christmas morning death

The apartment complex off U.S. Route 1 in Edgecomb where first responders were called Christmas Day last December and found Makinzlee Handrahan unresponsive. Staff photo by Rachel Ohm.

Police have charged an Edgecomb man with murder in the Christmas Day killing of 3-year-old Makinzlee Handrahan, arresting him more than nine months after authorities ruled the toddler’s death a homicide.

Tyler Witham-Jordan Two Bridges Regional Jail

Tyler Witham-Jordan, who had been dating Makinzlee’s mother, Faith Lewis, was arrested Friday morning, a state police spokesperson said.

Makinzlee’s father, Henry Handrahan, said Friday that he and Lewis are both “glad to see justice finally being served.”

Witham-Jordan is being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset and is expected to make his first court appearance next week. His attorney, James Howaniec, said his client was blindsided by the arrest.

He said Witham-Jordan is adamant that he is innocent and does not know why police believe he is responsible – or why he was arrested more than nine months after he spoke to investigators and provided them with a DNA sample.

“We’ve been in the dark here for 10 months,” said Howaniec, who called the case unusual. “We know absolutely nothing about what’s going on.”

A LONG WAIT FOR ANSWERS

Police have shared little information about Makinzlee’s death and, despite the arrest, a state police spokesperson said they are still withholding the toddler’s cause of death “because those are investigatory details the detectives and the AG’s office do not want public yet.”

Department of Public Safety spokesperson Shannon Moss said in an email that the case is still active. She declined to explain why it took almost a year to make an arrest.

“Frankly there is not a timetable on investigations. A year is not unusual at all,” Moss said. “Detectives have only one shot at this.”

Emergency responders and deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department responded to a 911 call from Lewis’ apartment in a complex off U.S. Route 1 at about 7:30 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2022. The caller said her daughter was unresponsive and not breathing. Crews brought Makinzlee to Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta, where she was pronounced dead.

The Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit quickly took over the investigation, which is standard procedure for all child deaths in the state. Over the next few days, investigators asked neighbors whether they’d heard any screaming or banging from Lewis’ apartment, one neighbor told the Press Herald in December.

Two days after Makinzlee’s death, Lewis filed for a protection from abuse order against Witham-Jordan, whom she described as “verbally, mentally and physically abusive.”

“I am scared for my life and my children,” the request said.

Two weeks later, a Wiscasset District Court judge dismissed it at her request, according to the Boothbay Register newspaper. Lewis did not explain the reversal in court.

Little has happened since, at least publicly. In April, Handrahan said he thought that the investigation should be progressing faster.

“My daughter deserves justice,” he said. “My family wants answers and closure.”

Howaniec said at the time that his client also was frustrated by the “radio silence” surrounding the case. He said Witham-Jordan, who was no longer in a relationship with Lewis, was struggling to find work and to see his 8-year-old daughter because of the case.