Overview
- Theah Loudemia Russell, 18, faces counts of second-degree murder and first- and third-degree assault tied to the death of 11-month-old Harvey Muklebust and two incidents involving a younger infant at Rocking Horse Ranch.
- Charging documents describe a Sept. 19 and Sept. 22 timeline and allege Russell admitted to choking the infants by inserting her fingers down their throats after initially giving varying accounts.
- Authorities say investigators found Russell was the last to have contact with the children in each case, and she had worked at the Savage, Minnesota, daycare for about three weeks.
- A child-abuse specialist flagged possible abuse after the first infant’s hospital visits, while autopsy and other forensic results in Harvey’s case were noted as still pending in court filings.
- Police cited a documented pattern of attention-seeking and erratic behavior in Russell’s background; the daycare’s state license remains suspended, and the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit’s involvement was reported by the police chief.