An 18-year-old day care employee in Minnesota has been taken into custody following the tragic death of an 11-month-old boy at the Rocking Horse Ranch childcare center.
Theah Loudemia Russell confessed to authorities that she suffocated the infant, Harvey Muklebust, last September, allegedly as a means to garner attention, according to a report by the Prior Lake News Compass.
The police investigation into the case began on September 19, when officers responded to a call regarding a 4-month-old girl who was found unresponsive, with blood and foam around her nose and mouth. The child was swiftly transported by her parents to a hospital, where she was treated and subsequently released without further complications over the weekend.
However, upon returning to the day care the following Monday, the same girl was discovered not breathing once more and was again rushed to a medical facility.
Just two hours later, Russell contacted emergency services, reporting that Harvey Muklebust, another child at the center, was not breathing. Despite efforts by police and paramedics to revive the baby, he was pronounced dead at the hospital around 11:30 a.m.
“A distinct pattern became evident,” stated Savage Police Chief Brady Juell. “Russell had been the last to have contact with each of the affected children immediately preceding these incidents.”
As investigators began to look into Russell’s background, they found a troubling pattern of attention-seeking behavior, which included calling 911 to report “nonsensical” incidents and hanging up, starting fires at a church camp, and behaving erratically toward other children.
Police arrested Russell on Tuesday, and she confessed to intentionally suffocating the two children as an attention-seeking act and provided details of how each was carried out, including the murder, Juell said.
Russell had worked at the day care center for just three weeks. The center lost its license and remains closed, although it is appealing the closure decision.
Russell is charged with murder for Muklebust’s death and assault for the child who survived.
