A daycare worker in Minnesota is facing allegations of suffocating two children, reportedly as a cry for attention, according to prosecutors.
Theah Loudemia Russell, 18, from Savage, was taken into custody on Tuesday after a thorough three-month investigation into incidents at the Rocking Horse Ranch childcare facility. Authorities uncovered medical complications suffered by two children under her care.
Tragically, one of the children, 11-month-old Harvey Muklebust, passed away just days shy of his first birthday, as noted in his obituary.
Russell is now detained at the Scott County Jail, facing serious charges, including second-degree murder and first and third-degree felony assault. Additional charges were mentioned but not detailed during the press briefing, reports People.
“We are deeply saddened by this incident and extend our heartfelt condolences to the Muklebust family and all those impacted,” expressed Savage Police Chief Brady Juell.
“Our thoughts are with Harvey’s family, and we are dedicated to offering them support throughout what will undoubtedly be a long and challenging process,” he continued.
Police were initially alerted to Rocking Horse Ranch daycare on September 19 after a four-month-old girl was discovered briefly not breathing, with blood and foam beneath her nose and mouth.
According to Juell, the infant had started breathing again and was on her way to the hospital with her parents, with officers at first treating the incident as a medical episode and raising ‘no immediate concerns of foul play.’
A Minnesota daycare worker allegedly admitted to attempting to suffocate two children because she wanted attention, which prosecutors say resulted in the death of 11-month-old Harvey Muklebust (pictured)
Muklebust’s death prompted a three-month investigation into a worker at Rocking Horse Ranch – a childcare facility – where two children had suffered medical complications
She was treated and sent home shortly after, spending the weekend with her parents as a seemingly healthy, normal child, with no further issues reported.
When the baby girl returned to daycare the next Monday, she was discovered unresponsive and not breathing, with blood surrounding her nose and mouth.
Juell said that during her second transport to the hospital, law enforcement was not called to the scene.
However, a doctor specializing in child abuse told police that she was concerned about possible asphyxiation or an obstructed airway after treating the child, according to KARE 11 News.
Only two hours later, Russell called 911 reporting that 11-month-old Muklebust had stopped breathing, sending police, the fire department and EMS crews back to the daycare.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by KARE, Russell was allegedly found carrying Muklebust in her arms when authorities got to the daycare, and the infant was described as ‘blue’ and unresponsive.
Emergency personnel rushed to provide life-saving measures before he was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced shortly after.
The daycare was immediately closed following his death, and the Minnesota Department of Human Services suspended the facility’s license the next day due to an ‘imminent risk of harm’ to children, according to the outlet.
Theah Loudemia Russell, 18, of Savage, was booked into Scott County Jail on second-degree murder and felony assault charges in the first and third degrees
During the interview, Russell allegedly confessed to choking the children by placing her fingers down on their throats
The daycare became the focus of a months-long investigation, with authorities interviewing staff, parents, children and contractors connected to the facility, according to Juell.
‘A clear pattern emerged: Theah Russell was a common denominator in each of these incidents,’ Juell said during Wednesday’s press conference, adding that she had only been employed with the daycare for three weeks by that time.
He said her behavior at the scene ‘immediately raised suspicion,’ causing investigators to view her as the primary person of interest.
Law enforcement began an ‘in-depth’ review of Russell’s background – including interviews with friends, family and previous employers – which revealed ‘a documented history of attention-seeking behavior.’
Some of these incidents, Juell said, involved the teenager calling 911 over ‘nonsensical’ matters, starting fires at church camp and showing ‘erratic behavior’ toward other children.
Authorities said in filings that after gathering information for months, the investigation led them to believe that Russell had suffocated the children on three separate occasions in a bid for attention – the third attempt allegedly killing Muklebust.
Russell, who was then taken into custody, allegedly provided ‘detailed’ accounts of the suffocation attempts she admitted to carrying out as an ‘attention-seeking act.’
During the interview, the teen allegedly confessed to choking the children by placing her fingers down on their throats, according to the complaint obtained by KARE.
Authorities said in-depth review of Russell’s friends, family and previous employers revealed ‘a documented history of attention-seeking behavior’
Some attention-seeking incidents involved Russell calling 911 over ‘nonsensical’ matters, starting fires at church camp and showing ‘erratic behavior’ toward other children
Prosecutors said that Russell had only stopped short of killing Muklebust because she ‘got scared when the victim turned purple,’ according to the outlet.
Michael Weber, a former Texas detective and current child abuse consultant, described the case as a textbook example of Munchausen by proxy, especially after hearing all the details revealed during the press conference.
‘It’s so offender-specific. It could be attention from a loved one, it could be attention from authorities because she has made 911 calls before,’ Weber told KARE.
‘She may want to be seen as the hero, as the one who found this child in distress, and she may get some intrinsic gratification from people saying “Oh, you’re so brave” or “Thank you for saving the child,”‘ he added.
The former detective said that this abuse usually takes one of three forms: exaggerating, falsifying or even inducing medical symptoms.
‘She is already at the induction phase point of this abuse. She’s an extremely dangerous offender,’ Weber told the outlet.
‘It is a compulsive behavior,’ he added. ‘Those who are inducing symptoms, in my opinion, they do not stop.’
Prosecutors said that Russell had only stopped short of killing Muklebust because she ‘got scared when the victim turned purple’
A GoFundMe page raising funds for Muklebust’s funeral remembered the baby boy as ‘pure happiness and sunshine from the moment he was born’
Since her arrest, Russell has stayed in custody, with bail set at $3.5 million, according to Fox 9 News.
A GoFundMe page raising funds for Muklebust’s funeral remembered the baby boy as ‘pure happiness and sunshine from the moment he was born.’
‘He could light up an entire room with his contagious smile and filled everyone’s hearts with joy when he giggled,’ it added.
Russell is set to appear in court for the first time on February 4.
