Inset: Matthew Maison (Justice for Matthew Facebook Group). Background, left to right: Amanda Maison and Maurice Houle (St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office).
The 33-year-old mother in Michigan has admitted to killing her 3-year-old son, who authorities said was “systematically abused” for years by her and her boyfriend before the child was ultimately beaten to death.
Amanda Mae Maison on Wednesday formally pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in the 2018 slaying of young Matthew Maison, authorities announced. According to a news release from the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, Maison reached a deal with prosecutors which, in addition to pleading guilty, requires her to provide “truthful testimony” against her then-boyfriend, Maurice Houle, in his upcoming trial on the charge of first-degree murder.
“In the plea hearing [Wednesday] morning, Amanda [Maison] admitted that she had a two-year relationship with Maurice Houle, from early 2016, up until the date of Matthew’s death,” the release states. “Amanda [Maison] stated that Maurice [Houle] physically abused Matthew during their relationship, and that she willingly participated in the intentional concealment of Matthew’s injuries to Child Protective Services and law enforcement investigations from 2016 through the 2018 murder investigation.”
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Maison’s plea also included the admission that in addition to “willfully” allowing an environment to exist where her son was severely abused, she also took part in that abuse. Specifically, Maison told the court that she “pushed Matthew’s head into a wall in their home, during a ‘military time out,'” per the release.
Following the hearing, the court canceled Maison’s bond and remanded her into the custody of the St. Claire County Jail until she is formally sentenced. The second-degree murder charge carries a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
“Thank you to the many law enforcement officers, family members, and others for bringing us to this day,” Sheriff Mat King said in a statement. “Matthew is finally beginning to get the justice he deserves. The dedication to this case is unmatched. Although this is not the end, I am confident justice will be served.”
As Law&Crime previously reported, Matthew was found dead by his mother in his bed inside the family’s Port Huron Township home on Feb. 18, 2018.
During a preliminary hearing in April, prosecutors told the court that Matthew suffered “years of abuse at the hands of both defendants.”
The detective who first headed up the investigation into Matthew’s death took the stand during the April hearing, testifying that when he went to the Maison residence on the day of Matthew’s death, he noticed that the child had visible injuries, including bruises and a black eye. Soon after, he discovered that Matthew’s grandfather had previously reported Maison and Houle to Child Protective Services (CPS).
The incident involving CPS occurred after Maison claimed she saw Houle physically abuse Matthew because the child spilled some food. She reportedly told her father what she had witnessed, and he called CPS. However, when authorities arrived at the Maison home, the mother retracted her story and cut off ties with her father.
The detective testified that when he interviewed Houle in 2018, the defendant initially claimed that Maison was the one who dealt with disciplining Matthew and the biological child of the two defendants. But under further questioning, the detective said Houle did admit that he sometimes punished Matthew by making the child do “military time-outs,” which involved kneeling in front of a wall with his hands on his head.
Prosecutors say Matthew was subjected to punishments that included “being placed in timeout on his knees where his head would be banged off the drywall.”
The detective who took over the case earlier this year testified that when Maison and Houle were interviewed in April 2025, they both claimed to have witnessed the other attempt to smother Matthew with a pillow.
Maison also alleged that Houle had killed her son and even asked her to “take the fall” for him to keep him out of prison.
The judge said he would allow prosecutors to admit testimonial evidence that when Matthew was still alive, Maison became pregnant with her third child, but the couple mutually decided to have an abortion. Despite wanting another shared child, the couple allegedly decided they could not afford the additional expense.
District Court Judge John Monaghan overruled objections from Maison’s defense attorney, reasoning that any prejudice against the defendants was outweighed by the evidence that Maison and Houle wanted another child and that Matthew was an impediment to that happening.
Prosecutors further asserted that the couple had a “plan” to “kill Matthew to make room for a child the two of them could have together.”
“Over the last seven years, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office has been unwavering in its commitment to bring justice for Matthew,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Many detectives have had a part in keeping this case moving forward, continuously working to gather the evidence necessary for an arrest, trial, and conviction.”
