PHOENIX (TCD) — A 24-year-old woman was taken into custody last week for reportedly feeding her infant too much NyQuil, then leaving the victim and the victim’s sister home alone for more than a day while she went out to a club.
KTVK-TV reports Sara Harris was arrested Friday, Jan. 5, on charges of second-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the child’s death, which occurred over the summer.
On July 30 at 9:40 a.m., Phoenix Police officers were called to Harris’ home near 19th Avenue and Mountain View Road after receiving a call about an infant who was not breathing. Firefighters arrived at the scene soon after and located a 1-month-old infant unresponsive on a mattress, who was soon pronounced deceased.
Harris allegedly told officers her child was “fussy,” so she gave the infant ibuprofen and food. Harris said she went to bed, left the house, then returned and tried to get back in because she forgot her keys. When she managed to reenter, she reportedly saw there was a blanket over the child’s face and the child was unresponsive. She called her parents, and her mother reportedly called police.
Police determined that Harris’ timeline of events did not match other evidence, according to Arizona Republic. She allegedly claimed she left her apartment July 30 at approximately 8 a.m., then came back a little over an hour later. Surveillance video, however, indicated Harris exited her apartment at 7:23 p.m. on July 28 and returned at 9:12 a.m. July 30.
Video from July 29 at 10 a.m. reportedly showed a man opening Harris’ apartment door slightly and walking away moments later.
KSAZ-TV, which cites court documents, reports police obtained a search warrant for Harris’ apartment and discovered a bottle of children’s NyQuil, as well as a syringe “with red liquid remnants that appeared the same color as the NyQuil in the kitchen on top of the microwave.”
Investigators searched a trash can and found a baby bottle with “what appeared to be white milk that had a pinkish hue to it and red liquid in the nipple of the bottle.”
KSAZ reports the medical examiner said the child died from “tracheal mucus plugging in the setting on Rhinovirus Enterovirus, Chlorpheniramine intoxication, and unsafe sleep environment.”
Police also discovered text messages between Harris and an unknown male in which the man reportedly offered Harris money for sexual acts.
According to KSAZ, Harris admitted to police that she left her 6-week-old infant and 17-month-old toddler home alone while she went out. She reportedly said she gave the infant NyQuil and melatonin in a bottle before leaving the baby and the toddler alone for 37 hours. Court documents say Harris was “taking illicit street drugs, drinking alcohol during the timeframe she left the infant victim and child victim at home unattended.” She reportedly went to a club in nearby Tempe for some of the evening.
The Arizona Republic reports Harris allegedly put the infant upright on a mattress and the 17-month-old in a playpen before she left. She reportedly asked a neighbor to check on her children while she was out.
According to KTVK, Harris later realized she left her children for “such a long period of time,” and got upset.
Harris was booked into the Maricopa County Jail with bond set at $100,000.
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