Minnesota daycare worker confesses to suffocating 11-month-old boy to death, says she was 'seeking attention'

A former Minnesota daycare employee has confessed to "intentionally suffocating" two children who were in the business’ care, one of whom died in September. Savage Police Chief Brady Juell said that Theah Loudemia Russell, 18, has been taken into custody and is set to face a second-degree murder charge, and that additional charges are expected.

On September 22, 2025, Russell called 911 to report that a child at Rocking Horse Ranch, later identified as 11-month-old Harvey Muklebust, had not been breathing. He was taken to the hospital, where he later died, per CBS News. Russell had only worked at the daycare for three weeks before the child’s death.

The police chief said that officers had gone to the daycare three days prior for a report of an unresponsive four-month-old who had blood under their nose and mouth. The same child had been found in a similar state two hours before the September 22 911 call. However, police were not called to respond to that incident.

Juell said Russell's "behavior and actions at the scene immediately raised suspicion, drawing investigative focus to her as the primary person of interest." Authorities found a "a documented history of attention-seeking behavior" when they investigated Russell’s background, including "nonsensical" 911 calls, "erratic behavior toward other children," and firestarting," Juell said.

Juell said Russell confessed in an interview with police to "intentionally suffocating" the two children "in an attention-seeking act." He added that she "confessed to the attempted murder of our first victim on two occasions and to the murder of Harvey Muklebust."

In the wake of the child’s death, the Minnesota Department of Human Services suspended Rocking Horse Ranch’s license on September 23. The suspension is under appeal.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Harvey’s grandmother, Julie Muklebust, said in a press conference that her grandson had been just five days from his first birthday, adding that he "filled our world with sunshine."

"Harvey was such a blessing to our family, and his death has left a tremendous hole in our hearts," she said, adding that she hasn’t been able to bring herself to clean his fingerprints off of her sliding glass door. "Harvey — every day, we ask ourselves why it had to be you. Every day we live with the pain of what happened to you, but we promise that every day we will say your name, every day we will continue to fight for you. And in the end, we will make sure that justice has been served."