Photos From: Scott County Sheriff’s Office
(Minneapolis, Minnesota) – An 18-year-old Minnesota day care employee has been arrested after authorities say she intentionally suffocated an 11-month-old boy, killing him inside a licensed child care facility just days before his first birthday.
Police say Theah Loudemia Russell, an employee at Rocking Horse Ranch in Savage, confessed to suffocating infant Harvey Muklebust in September. Investigators also say Russell admitted to suffocating another child at the same facility, triggering a months-long investigation that ended with her arrest on January 13.
According to police, Russell called 911 on September 22 claiming Harvey was not breathing. First responders attempted lifesaving measures, but the child was pronounced dead at a hospital. Investigators now believe the suffocations were intentional and motivated by attention-seeking behavior, citing prior incidents involving another infant found unresponsive with blood around her nose and mouth days earlier. Russell is being held in the Scott County Jail and is expected to face second-degree murder charges as prosecutors move forward.
