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Who is Theah Loudemia Russell? Ex-employee at Rocking Horse Ranch suffocated infant to death
Former daycare worker Theah Russell, 18, confessed to suffocating an infant, aged 11 months, to death. Savage Police say charges will be filed Thursday.
Theah Loudemia Russell, an 18-year-old former worker at Rocking Horse Ranch daycare in Savage, Minnesota, has confessed to 'intentionally suffocating' two infants at the daycare, leading to death of one.
Russell is accused of suffocating two children - one 11-month-old and the other four-month-old in September 2025, the police said. The 11-month-old, Harvey Muklebust, passed away. Charges against Russell will be filed on Thursday, Scott County Attorney Ron Hochever said.
Thea Russell is expected to face charges of second-degree murder and attempt to murder involving the two infants.
Who Is Thea Russell?
The chilling details of Thea Russell's crime surfaced as the Savage Police Department and the Attorney General's office held a press conference on Thursday. At the press conference, officials said that Russell confessed to the crimes saying she did them "for attention," Fox9 reported.
The case first erupted with a 911 call made by Russell early in the morning of September 20, 2025. She reported to the police that the 11-month-old was not breathing. First responders took the infant to a hospital, but Maklebust died by 11:34 a.m.
The police started investigating 18-year-old after they found a similar pattern of reports involving infants coming from the daycare. Investigators found that two days before the death of the 11-month old, a 4-month-old child was reported not breathing. When the police came, they found blood and foam under the child's nose. The child was taken to a hospital.
At the time of the incident on September 19, 2025, it was deemed a medical emergency, and no foul play was suspected. However, earlier on the day of the 11-month-old's death (September 22), the same 4-month-old was found not breathing and with blood around the nose. The police were not involved in this episode.
How Police Established Charges Against Thea Russell
The Savage Police Department established charges against Russell by noting what they described as a "pattern of erratic behavior" they found. Officials said that she had a habit of making 911 calls reporting frivolous incidents and then hanging up. Police also found checking her background, that she started a fire at a church camp.
On Tuesday, police zeroed in on her based on the probable causes they determined from her background. She was taken into custody on Tuesday and upon rigorous questioning, confessed to suffocating the two infants.
Russell was working at the daycare for three weeks before the deaths. Once the deaths were reported, the Ricking Horse Ranch daycare was shut down, and it remains shut.
