Iesha Harris (Detroit Police Dept.) and Harmoni Henderson (GoFundMe)
A 30-year-old mother in Michigan is accused of killing her friend’s 3-year-old child while babysitting, allegedly beating the little girl to death because the victim threw up on herself.
Iesha Harris was taken into custody last week and charged with one count of felony murder and one count of first-degree child abuse in the violent death of young Harmoni Henderson, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, officers with the Detroit Police Department at about 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, responded to a residence in the 15700 block of Southfield Freeway. Prosecutors said that Harris was a longtime friend of Harmoni’s mother and had been babysitting the child when the victim suffered her fatal injuries.
Harmoni was privately transported to a local hospital for treatment, but succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead. Authorities say that the cause of Harmoni’s death was “blunt force trauma caused by the defendant.”
Harris was formally charged and arrested on Wednesday, March 20. She is currently scheduled to appear in court for a probable cause conference on March 27 and a preliminary examination hearing on April 1. During the latter proceeding, prosecutors said “more complete facts and evidence will be placed on the record.”
Capt. Laurie Carter, the head of the Detroit Police Special Victims Unit, provided some additional details about the investigation into Harmoni’s death in an interview with Detroit NBC affiliate WDIV.
Carter was one of the officers who responded to the hospital where Harmoni’s mother and Harris had taken the victim.
“When I arrived at the hospital, the child had already been conveyed by the mother and also the friend (Harris),” Carter told the station. “The child was deceased when I arrived.”
Carter said the details of Harmoni’s death left her “very disturbed.”
“Nothing like this should ever happen to a child,” she said.
Harmoni’s mother told WDIV that Harris “slammed” the toddler’s head into a bathtub, ultimately killing her.
“She was having a hard time. My baby is autistic, nonverbal,” the mother told the station. “I think she got frustrated with her, plus her own daughter, and she slammed my baby’s head against the tub.”
Harmoni’s mother said that prior to the heinous act of violence, she trusted Harris “wholeheartedly.”
Authorities reportedly told WDIV that Harris was watching Harmoni for the night and at some point locked the toddler in a room with her own 1-year-old child for about three hours while she smoked marijuana. When she returned to the room, she allegedly found that Harmoni had thrown up on herself and became irate.
“Ms. Harris allegedly admitted to police she poured scalding water on top of the 3-year-old and slammed her head against the side of the bathtub,” Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Douglas told WDIV.
The scalding water was allegedly poured on Harmoni’s head and face, Detroit Fox affiliate WJBK reported. The station also reported that when Harmoni’s mother called Harris to check in on her daughter, Harris told her that the child had fallen down the stairs and bumped her head, but was otherwise fine. The following morning, Harmoni’s mother reportedly came to pick her up and found the child in bed unresponsive.
“She was already dead from the moment that I got there,” the mother told WJBK. “She was gone.”
A GoFundMe to help the family with Harmoni’s memorial can be found here.
Harris is currently being held in the Andrew C. Baird Detention Facility without bond.
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