Annthoni Bliss of Lyndeborough indicted in 2024 death of toddler

Annthoni Bliss.

Annthoni Bliss. —PHOTO NEW HAMPSHIRE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Luca Hudson.

Luca Hudson. —PHOTO COURTESY NEW HAMPSHIRE ATTORNEY GENERAL

By DAVID ALLEN

MonadnockLedger-Transcript

Published: 06-13-2025 1:42 PM

Editor’s note: Story contains description of alleged violence against a child.

A Lyndeborough man has been indicted for second-degree murder in the 2024 death of a toddler in Keene.

According to an announcement Wednesday from Attorney General John M. Formella’s office, a Cheshire County grand jury returned an indictment on Annthoni Bliss, 22, in the death of Luca Hudson in Keene in January 2024. The indictment states that Bliss “did cause the death of Luca Hudson recklessly under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value (of) human life.” The 23 month-old was the son of Lydia Marrotte, of Keene, and Matthew Hudson.

In January 2024, Keene Police Det. Jennifer Truman reported in a probable cause statement that Bliss was dating Marrotte at the time of Luca’s death, and lived in a Roxbury Street apartment with Luca and Marrotte, as well as Luca’s 3-year old brother, at the time.

Marrotte stated that she left the apartment to go shopping Saturday evening, Jan. 14, during which time a neighbor reported hearing constant crying which he believed was Luca’s, per Truman’s statement. Bliss told police he heard vomiting coming from the children’s bedroom late that night. Marrotte and Bliss said that over the course of a couple hours, Luca complained of head pain, and that near 5 a.m. Sunday, Bliss conducted internet searches on head softness in a 2-year-old, including one about swelling after “2 year old hit head.”

Truman’s statement added that “Despite Annthoni Bliss’s own tactile perceptions of Luca’s head, his internet searches, and Luca’s observed physical distress, Annthoni Bliss did not report to Lydia Marrotte any prior head trauma suffered by Luca in need of attention. Nor did Annthoni Bliss call 911, or seek medical assistance for Luca.”

When Bliss noticed Luca’s difficulty breathing and rigidity in his body, a 911 call was made at 7:52 a.m. Luca was not breathing when first-responders arrived, and at Cheshire Medical Center, an examination indicated a head injury between his scalp and his skull, according to Truman’s statement.

He was taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center by helicopter that same day, where the “constellation of injuries (were) observed and documented to Luca were consistent with causation from nonaccidental trauma,” said Truman’s statement. Luca never regained consciousness, dying Jan. 17, 2024. 

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An autopsy report found Luca likely suffered a head trauma Saturday evening, the same time that Bliss was alone with the children and when a neighbor reported crying in the apartment. Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Mitchell L. Weinberg determined that Luca Hudson’s cause of death was a homicide. On March 20 of this year, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service, Keene Police arrested Bliss. He was charged that week with second-degree murder.

The indictment states that Bliss caused the death by “subjecting Luca to abusive violence and not obtaining timely medical assistance for his injuries.”

Bliss is due to be arraigned in Cheshire County Superior Court on July 10.