FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (TCN) — A 31-year-old mother is behind bars on $1 million bond after she allegedly killed her 15-month-old son and placed his body in a freezer.
On May 17, police officers responded to La Quinta Inn and Suites after 911 dispatchers received a call from a woman who said she had killed her son, Arizona’s Family reports. Responding officers found the body of a 15-month-old boy wrapped in a tote bag inside a plastic box. The body was about 26 degrees Fahrenheit.
The child’s mother, Ochra Manakaja, said that on April 29, she became frustrated with the child, whose name has not been released, and threw him out of his crib because he was fussy.
Court documents obtained by Arizona’s Family state Manakaja said the boy became sick, threw up, and was not acting like himself. She said he had a fever on May 1, but she did not take him to the hospital because she was afraid of getting in trouble. She also claimed she tried to wake him up with a cold rag when he was unresponsive on the couch.
When officers asked her how he had died, she claimed he had likely choked after throwing up. Manakaja said she went to get a drug test because she was on probation for a DUI, and when she returned, she wrapped the child’s body up and placed it in the freezer. She said she told her older children, ages 7 and 9, the baby was at the hospital.
During her interview, Manakaja said that she had “f—ed up” and expressed remorse, Arizona’s Family reports.
Manakaja was booked into jail and charged with first-degree murder, child abuse, and concealment of a dead body, per Arizona’s Family. Her bond was set at $1 million and she has been forbidden to have any contact with her older children.
Arizona’s Family reports Manakaja has a criminal history that includes a conviction for aggravated assault. In 2024, child services received a court order to remove a child due to unsafe living conditions. In that case, Manakaja’s tribe intervened and claimed custody of the child.
According to People, the child’s cause of death is under investigation and will be determined by the medical examiner. The investigation is ongoing.
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