A Tomball man who was arrested last year in connection with the death of a 23-month-old baby girl was sentenced to 20 years in prison July 15 for his role in her death.

Ethan Wolfe, 18, was convicted in the 232nd district court of serious bodily injury to a child after the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled that Julie Maus died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Wolfe was arrested last July by Tomball Police in connection with her death after Wolfe was alleged to have struck Maus on the head with a wireless video game remote control. Detectives said that Wolfe became enraged after he lost during a war-style video game. Wolfe had been living with his girlfriend, Maus’ mother, Brittany Maus, in Village Square Apartments in Tomball at the time of the incident.

According to Donna Hawkins of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Wolfe pled guilty to the charge of serious bodily injury to a child, a first degree felony. Hawkins explained that after his arrest, Wolfe gave several explanations to investigators about the cause of Maus’ death. During initial interviews with authorities, Wolfe denied any wrongdoing and claimed the baby had suffered from a history of seizures, which he claimed could have been the cause of the baby’s death.

He later claimed Maus threw a tantrum while in her bed and threw herself back, hitting her head on a rail. In yet another explanation, Wolfe said Maus would play a game in which she would flop her head on her bed in a playful manner, and she could have been injured in that way.

However, initial medical reports showed Maus to have several contusions on her head and that the baby suffered from internal bleeding, injuries that Tomball PD Detective Ron McGullion said at the time likely resulted from more than an accidental head bump. During a third interview with McGullion, Wolfe admitted to hitting Maus on the head with the remote control.

Hawkins explained that it would have been difficult to gain a first degree murder conviction with so many inconsistencies in Wolfe’s stories and so many possibilities about how Maus actually died.

What Hawkins said is certain, however, is that Maus’ death was “certainly a cause of his (Wolfe’s) actions.”

“As far as what actually happened in that room, we’ll never know,” she added.

Wolfe will be eligible for parole in 10 years.

At the time of Maus’ death, Wolfe and Brittany Maus had only been living in Tomball for a few months. The two met in Oklahoma and moved to Tomball searching for jobs.

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