State police take new look at boy’s death

BOSTON – It was a tragedy: A father woke up to find his infant son dead in bed nine years ago in a small town in Maine.

The death of Patrick McMullen’s 2-month-old son Elijah in a home without electricity, plumbing or heat was investigated and, despite some lingering questions, the case was closed months later.

The Maine State Police are now taking another look at the case after McMullen’s arrest for physically and sexually abusing at least two of his six children at their home in a junkyard compound in Salisbury, Mass..

“In light of what we have learned, we would be remiss if we did not give this case a second look,” said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. “And we will share with our counterparts in Massachusetts anything that might be helpful in their investigation.”

McMullen’s former neighbors in Thorndike, Maine, say he gave conflicting accounts of the death of his son on April 15, 1992.

According to a medical examiner’s report, McMullen told paramedics that the child had been sleeping in bed with his parents when his wife, Christine McMullen, woke up and realized the baby wasn’t breathing.

Elijah’s body temperature was 89 degrees when rescue workers reached him at about 3:30 a.m., according to a medical examiner’s report.

The baby was unconscious and did not respond to attempts to revive him, according to the report. The National Weather Service reported that it was 12 degrees outside that night.