‘Injuries could not have occurred while falling downstairs’

LEWISTON – A police affidavit, which includes the findings of the state medical examiner’s office, has shed new light on a local manslaughter case, in which a Wilton man stands accused of actions leading to the death of a young child.

The affidavit points to inconsistencies between the story police were told by David Cook, 25 and the injuries that 17-month-old Matteo Hanson sustained when he reportedly fell down a flight of stairs.

The autopsy also revealed that the boy may have sustained injuries prior to the November incident which killed him.

Cook has been charged with manslaughter, a Class A felony. He also is charged with violating his bail conditions, in connection with an assault arrest in Lewiston in September.

In the arrest warrant affidavit, a detective with the Maine State Police recounts his investigation into the death of the child, which was reported on Nov. 29. Detective Jeffrey Love said in the report that while Cook claimed Hanson had been pushed down a flight stairs and eventually became unresponsive, other evidence pointed to a sudden loss of consciousness.

Love arrested Cook on Dec. 26, at his mother’s home in Wilton. However, prior to being placed in custody, Cook apparently swallowed prescription medication belonging to a family member.

Sheriff Dennis Pike said Cook became violently ill as he was booked at the jail and lost consciousness. A NorthStar Emergency Medical Service ambulance took Cook to Franklin Memorial Hospital where he stayed overnight. On Saturday morning, he was transferred to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. His condition, as of Tuesday evening, was listed as “stable,” according to a spokeswoman at CMMC.

“He is recovering, conscious and alert,” Pike said. “They (medical staff) worried there would be internal damage and are watching him,” he added.

In his affidavit, Love reports that two local officers, Wilton Police Department Officer Rick Billian and Jay Police Department Officer Steve Wilkinson, arrived first at an apartment in the Fernwold Apartment building. According to statements taken by police, the two-story apartment was the residence of Brandy Swett, who was Hanson’s mother and Cook’s girlfriend. Cook was reportedly alone in the apartment with Hanson and Swett’s other child, a 3-year-old girl, Keeshia.

Cook said that while drawing a bath for Hanson, he heard the three-year-old say “boo boo.” Cook told Love that he had also heard a loud sound prior to “boo boo” as well.

“While feeling for the right water temperature Cook said he heard a bang,” Love wrote in the affidavit. “Cook said it kind of sounded like somebody was stomping up the stairs. Cook turned around and saw [the three-year-old] pointing down the stairs saying ‘boo boo.'”

According to the affidavit, Cook told Billian that “the three-year-old pushed him (Hanson) down the steps.”

Love reported that Cook said he then picked Hanson up and got him to sit upright, despite being “a little wobbly.” He gave Hanson cereal and juice, which the child reportedly consumed. Then, the affidavit reports, Cook said that Hanson started to breathe funny and became unresponsive.

In the report, Cook said he then called Swett at work and 911.

However, when the detective interviewed the paramedic who treated Hanson on the scene, she reportedly said that Hanson was “cold to touch” from the moment she arrived, and registered no signs of life in the ambulance.

“[The paramedic],” Love wrote in his report, “told me that she felt the child had been dead for some time.”

The medical examiner’s office, the affidavit reports, believed that the symptoms from the injuries sustained by Hanson would have manifested themselves very quickly, with “rapid deterioration.” Hanson was examined by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Marguerite DeWitt on Nov. 30. According to Love’s report, DeWitt said that Hanson had died from “multiple blunt force trauma(s) to the torso.”

“The mechanics of the injury to the abdomen are severe force; including but not limited to a severe punch or kick,” the affidavit read. “Dr. Dewitt further explained that Cook’s explanation is not consistent with the injuries she observed. She said the injuries could not have occurred while falling downstairs.”

DeWitt went on to tell Love that Hanson had some injuries which predate the Nov. 29 incident. These included healing rib fractures and contusions in the rib area, as well as a fracture on the back of the child’s skull.

Cook, Love noted, denied any wrongdoing when confronted with the findings of the medical examiner at a Dec. 5 interview. Later, on Dec. 11, Love spoke with Cook again, at his parent’s residence.

“Cook told me he’s been thinking a lot and is not sure what he should do,” Love wrote. “Cook said he would like to go to church, talk to God and meet with me at a later date when he would tell me everything I want to know.”

Cook was scheduled for an initial appearance on the manslaughter charge Monday, in Lewiston. Following the events of last week, which culminated with Cook in the hospital, that court date has been postponed until Friday.