Mother describes final days before Keene toddler died in Bliss trial

A photo taken the day before Luca was hospitalized showed a small forehead mark and bruising near one eye.

Testimony in Cheshire County Superior Court this week focused on the period just before the death of 23-month-old Luca Hudson, as his mother, Lydia Marrotte, recounted what she knew in the hours and days leading up to the emergency call that brought him to the hospital in January 2024.

Marrotte, 25, said she had no idea her son had suffered a serious head injury before the morning of Sunday, Jan. 14, 2024. She told jurors she would have sought medical help immediately if she had known, noting that she had previously taken Luca for treatment when he was ill or having other minor health problems. Luca died at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon on Jan. 17, 2024.

The 911 recording from Marrotte’s Keene apartment was played for the jury Friday afternoon. In the audio, Marrotte and Annthoni Bliss can be heard speaking with the dispatcher while CPR instructions were given and firefighters and paramedics from the Keene Fire Department responded. Both Marrotte and Bliss appeared emotional as the recording was heard in court.

Marrotte testified that she and Bliss were the only adults with Luca in the apartment from the night of Friday, Jan. 13, until the emergency call after the child lost consciousness. She also told the court that she had picked up her two children from daycare earlier than usual that day, then later left them with Bliss while she went to Manchester for a tattoo appointment, something she said she first concealed from police.

A transcript from a Jan. 18 police interview indicates Marrotte told a Keene detective that she had instructed Bliss not to tell investigators he had been alone with the children. In court, she said she could not remember discussing that false account with him. She also said she did not want Matthew Hudson, the boys’ father, to know she was seeing someone else and did not initially tell him or Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center staff that another adult had been at the apartment.

On Monday, Marrotte said her older son had been sick earlier that week, and that when Luca began vomiting late Saturday night she did not think the situation was serious. She said vomiting and a complaint about a headache were the only symptoms she noticed at that point. Earlier evidence in the trial, including recorded interviews, showed Bliss told police he noticed Luca’s head felt squishy and discussed that with Marrotte late that evening.

Marrotte also testified that she did not know about Google searches Bliss made on Sunday morning about toddler head injuries and the symptoms Luca was showing. In a separate police call played last week, Bliss told investigators he had been searching for answers after Marrotte, he said, declined to take the child to the hospital.

The defense also raised questions about Marrotte’s phone records. A transcript from her Jan. 18 interview states she told a detective she had deleted messages before handing over her phone for review. Marrotte said Monday she did not remember removing any messages or having that conversation. The defense said the deletions involved about 1,600 messages.

Jurors also heard testimony about visible injuries on Luca. Medical staff previously said he had a bruise in his genital area when he arrived at Dartmouth Hitchcock, and experts described it as a possible sign of abuse. Marrotte said she had not seen that injury before Jan. 14. But the transcript of her police interview says she could not remember exactly when she first noticed it and recalled seeing it while changing his diaper before the hospital visit.

A photo taken the day before Luca was hospitalized showed a small forehead mark and bruising near one eye. Marrotte said he had bumped his head on a table before that weekend, explaining the forehead mark, but said she did not know how the eye bruise happened.

Additional witnesses included the children’s daycare provider, who is not licensed by the state, and a neighbor from Marrotte’s Keene apartment building. The daycare provider said she had cared for Luca and his brother on Wednesday and Friday, along with earlier days that week. She testified that the eye bruise was visible on Monday, but she did not see the forehead mark or the bruise in the genital area. She also said that when police came to her home after Luca’s death, she and her husband remembered an incident that Friday in which Luca had a blanket over his head and tripped at a doorway, though he seemed unhurt.

The neighbor said he and his wife were home throughout the weekend of Jan. 12-14 and did not hear anything unusual coming from the apartment next door.

Bliss, 24, of Lyndeborough, was arrested in 2025 and is charged with second-degree murder. His attorney, Monique Schmidt, said Monday that she had not yet decided whether Bliss will take the stand.