US EditionSavage day care worker charged with infant's choking death
- On September 22, 2025, Savage Police Chief Brady Juell confirmed the arrest of Theah Russell, accused of second-degree murder in Harvey Muklebust's death, held at Scott County Jail.
- Savage Police Chief Brady Juell said investigators found a pattern of behavior implicating Theah Russell, who confessed to intentionally suffocating two infants in an attention-seeking act and had only worked at the center for three weeks.
- Investigators say Russell described placing her fingers down each child's throat and choking Harvey Muklebust in his crib until he stopped breathing, with Muklebust later found blue and unresponsive.
- On September 23, state regulators suspended Rocking Horse Ranch's license citing imminent harm while the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families investigates; Theah Russell faces assault charges and Muklebust's family raised over $35,000.
- A three-month probe with dozens of interviews identified Theah Russell as a common factor in multiple emergencies at Rocking Horse Ranch day care center, amid interest sparked last month by Nick Shirley, YouTuber’s viral video, though the center is not taxpayer funded.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Nursery worker 'suffocated baby to death days before first birthday for attention' - The Mirror
Little Harvey Mukebust was just five days away from celebrating his first birthday and died just days after another child suffered health issues at a nursery day care
Teen Daycare Worker in Chilling Minneapolis Child Death
A quiet Minnesota suburb has been rocked by a disturbing case involving the death of an infant and the alleged attempted suffocation of another child at a local daycare center. Authorities say an 18-year-old employee at a Savage-area childcare facility intentionally harmed two infants in what investigators describe as an effort to gain attention. According to police, Theah Loudemia Russell had been working at the Rocking Horse Ranch child care c…
Police: Minnesota Childcare Worker, 18, Arrested for Smothering Two Children on the Same Day, Killing One
A teenage worker at daycare center near Minneapolis allegedly suffocated two children — one of them resulting in his death days before his first birthday — in an attempt to attract “attention,” police said this week.
Day-care worker confesses to 'intentionally suffocating' 11-month-old boy who died; it was 'an attention-seeking act': Cops
A day-care worker in Minnesota confessed to "intentionally suffocating" an 11-month-old boy who died last fall, police told WCCO-TV, adding that it was "an attention-seeking act."Theah Loudemia Russell, 18, is in custody and will face a second-degree murder charge and other charges, Savage Police Chief Brady Juell told the station, which added that formal charges were expected to be filed Thursday.Authorities investigating Russell's background f…
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