KEENE, N.H. (MyKeeneNow) The trial of a 24-year-old Lyndeborough man charged in the death of a Keene toddler began Monday in Cheshire County Superior Court, with prosecutors and the defense offering sharply different accounts of the evidence.

Annthoni Bliss is charged with second-degree murder in the January 2024 death of Luca Hudson, who was 23 months old.

Bliss has been held at the Cheshire County jail since his arrest in March 2025, following a months-long investigation into Hudson’s death.

According to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, Hudson was found unresponsive and not breathing at a Keene apartment on Jan. 14, 2024. He was taken to a hospital, where he died three days later.

An autopsy determined that Hudson died from blunt force trauma to the head, and his death was ruled a homicide.

A Cheshire County grand jury indicted Bliss in June 2025. The charge of second-degree murder carries a potential sentence of life in prison.

The trial began Monday before a jury of Cheshire County residents and is expected to continue through the end of the week, potentially extending into next week.