SAVAGE, Minn. — An 18-year-old former daycare employee has been arrested after allegedly confessing to suffocating an 11-month-old infant at a Minnesota childcare center, authorities said.
Police identified the suspect as Theah Loudemia Russell, a former worker at Rocking Horse Ranch Childcare in Savage. She is accused of intentionally suffocating Harvey Muklebust, who was found unresponsive at the daycare on September 22, 2025, just days before his first birthday. The child was rushed to a hospital, where he later died.
According to investigators, Russell admitted during police questioning that she intentionally caused the infant’s death. Authorities say the act was not accidental and described it as an alleged “attention-seeking” behavior.
Investigators also revealed that Russell confessed to suffocating another infant, a 4-month-old child, on multiple occasions earlier that month. That child survived. Police noted similarities between the two incidents and said Russell was the common link in several emergency calls involving infants at the daycare.
Russell had been employed at the childcare center for approximately three weeks at the time of the incidents. Following the child’s death, the Minnesota Department of Human Services suspended the daycare’s license, and the facility remains closed.
Russell is currently being held at the Scott County Jail. Prosecutors are expected to charge her with second-degree murder in connection with the infant’s death, as well as attempted murder related to the earlier incident involving the surviving child.
Local officials expressed grief and outrage over the case, calling it a devastating tragedy for the community. Family members of the victim have described Harvey as a happy, loving child whose death has left an immeasurable loss.
The investigation remains ongoing.