A Louisiana man charged with manslaughter in connection with a toddler’s death in Knox County made several calls from jail, prosecutors said, asking the child’s mother to tell police he is innocent.

Aziayh Scott, 23, joins a bail hearing in his manslaughter case via Zoom at Two Bridges Regional Jail. Image from Zoom hearing

Aziayh Scott, 23, who is being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail, appeared virtually in Superior Court Wednesday for a hearing on a motion to reduce his bail from $250,000. His attorney asked for his bail to be reduced to $15,000, but Superior Court Justice Patrick Larson lowered it to $150,000 cash bail.

Scott is accused of killing 22-month-old Quayshawn Wilson, whom police said was found not breathing at the Thomaston Walmart on May 29. The boy later died at the Pen Bay Medical Center and his death was ruled a homicide from blunt force trauma.

During the bail hearing, Assistant Attorney General Jen Ackerman said Quayshawn had a “severely lacerated liver,” suggesting someone had stomped on the boy.

Quayshawn had been with Scott at their Owls Head apartment that day, Ackerman said, while his mother, Shaneka Washington, was at work. Scott, who is from Louisiana, had been dating Washington and moved to Maine when she came for a job as a traveling nurse.

At some point, Scott left their place with the child to pick Washington up from her job and go to Walmart. Scott told police he had left their apartment “hand in hand” with Quayshawn, Ackerman said, but a neighbor told police that she saw Scott carrying Quayshawn to the car, with the child’s head tilted back “in a very concerning manner.”

An affidavit outlining probable cause for Scott’s arrest was still under seal Wednesday. It’s unclear how police were called to the Walmart and if Washington and Scott were still there. Ackerman said in court that the boy was found in the backseat of their car.

JAIL CALLS AND TEXTS

Scott was arrested June 3 in New Orleans. He was apprehended by Louisiana State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service’s Maine Violent Offenders Task Force, according to state police, and held in a Louisiana jail.

From that jail, Ackerman said Scott made “hundreds” of calls to Washington, begging her to tell prosecutors he is innocent. He was under an order not to contact Washington, who has not been charged and is a witness in the state’s case, but a judge said Wednesday that Scott might not have known that yet.

In some of the calls, Ackerman said Scott told Washington to call the detectives. Scott said he was angry at himself and needed “to work on my control,” Ackerman said, which often made Washington upset as she was grieving the loss of her young son.

“I’ve got no people reaching out to the (police) that they got the wrong person,” Scott allegedly said in one call. (The attorney general’s office said they could not provide transcripts because they’re not publicly available.) “They feel like they got what they wanted – they’re trying to pin this on me.”

Ackerman suggested this was evidence of witness tampering.

But Scott’s lawyer, Chris MacLean, cast some doubt on what those calls and texts actually meant.

The calls are long, confusing and cover many topics, he said, and it’s not always clear what they’re talking about. In some calls, MacLean said Scott is advising Washington to get a protection order from an abusive ex of hers. He said it’s possible Ackerman might be conflating those conversations.

“I do think that there’s a good chance that some of what you just heard from the attorney general’s office was, while made entirely in good faith here, may not be entirely accurate,” MacLean said.

COMMUNITY TIES 

Ackerman also suggested Wednesday that Scott had a history of domestic violence, although he has no convictions.

While living in Maine, she said there was an arrest warrant out for Scott in Louisiana for robbery and violating a protection order from another ex-girlfriend with whom he shares children. Ackerman said those charges were dismissed after Scott spoke with with his ex.

And on May 28, a day before the toddler’s death, police had responded to a 911 call from Washington’s phone while they were driving. Ackerman said Washington told police at the time that the call was placed accidentally.

But after they got home, Washington texted Scott, asking him to leave.

“I really want you to leave,” Washington wrote to Scott, according to the messages Ackerman said investigators obtained through a search warrant. “I love you but I love my son more and I respect him. You did it this time. … That’s the main reason why I left his dad, because of the constant arguing and fighting. You have anger issues and need to see someone for that. … You literally could have killed us.”

MacLean had asked Wednesday that Larson consider lowering Scott’s bail to $15,000 cash, which is what Scott’s friends and family in Louisiana had raised for him.

Scott grew up in a religious, substance-free two-parent home in Louisiana, MacLean said. His parents are both involved in ministry and run local businesses.

“This is not a wealthy area he comes from, your honor, but they have been working to raise bail to make a bail proposal for you to consider here today,” MacLean said, while Scott’s parents listened to the call with their cameras on. “From their perspective, they’ll come up with a substantial amount of money that can be posted.”

MacLean had also asked that Scott be released to await trial in Louisiana, where he could return to his parents. But Larson was concerned that the state wouldn’t be able to enforce Scott’s bail conditions, including the no-contact order with Washington.

If Scott is able to make the $150,000 bail, he will have to stay in Knox County and report regularly to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office.