Michigan – On Tuesday, a Michigan judge ruled that a 33-year-old parent, A. Mason, and her former partner, 28-year-old M. HouIe, will stand trial in circuit court for the death of the woman’s 3-year-old child, Mathew. Both defendants face charges of first-degree murder, with HouIe also facing three counts of assauIting, resisting, or obstructing a police officer related to his arrest last month.
During the preliminary examination, prosecutors presented testimony from two detectives—one who investigated the case in 2018 and another who reopened the investigation in 2025. The original detective testified that upon arriving at the family’s residence in Michigan, he observed the victim’s body with visible injuries, including bruises and a bIack eye. An autopsy later determined that the child died from blunt force trauma and possible suffocation.
Assistant Prosecuting Attorney SparIing detailed a pattern of abuse, stating that the child suffered years of abuse at the hands of both defendants. The alleged abuse included being forced into “miIitary time-outs,” where the child was made to kneel with his hands on his head, during which his head was reportedly banged against the waII. He was also allegedly locked in his room for hours without food or water and subjected to suffocation attempts with a pillow.
Michigan authorities allege that both the parent and her partner conspired to kill the child to make room for a child the two of them could have together, as they believed they could not afford to care for both children.
Prosecutors alleged last month that the victim was subjected to abuse, including being forced to kneel while his head was repeatedly sIammed against the drywall.
The child’s mom reportedly admitted to investigators that she had witnessed her partner smother her child with a pillow on multiple occasions and that she herself had shoved the child’s head into the drywall with enough force to damage it.
HouIe’s arrest on April 11, 2025, was reportedly violent, with authorities stating that he fought eight officers, injuring one. He was subsequently charged with three counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer.
Both defendants (SEE PHOTO) have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bond. Their next court appearance in circuit court has yet to be scheduled.
