Former Employee Charged With Killing Infant at Minnesota Daycare Center

Savage, MN (MinnesotaNow) - A former employee of a southern Twin Cities daycare center appeared in court today for her arraignment on murder and assault charges.

Eighteen-year-old Theah Loudemia Russell is accused of killing a 10-month-old baby at the facility in Savage last September. She is charged with second-degree murder, along with first- and third-degree assault.

According to the criminal complaint, emergency responders were sent to the daycare center on a high-priority medical call on the morning of September 22, 2025. The call reported that an infant was not breathing.

Life-saving Measures Attempted

The court document says a Savage police officer on patrol arrived at the center within seconds of receiving the dispatch and was directed to a playroom, where he found a worker holding the child. The officer reported that the baby was pale, with blue discoloration around his mouth.

After failing to locate a pulse, the criminal complaint says the officer began performing CPR until additional responders arrived at the scene. The infant was then transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later.

Other Incidents Involving Another Baby

The criminal complaint states that, while at the scene, Savage police officers learned from other workers about an incident involving another infant a few days earlier. In that case, officers were told the baby had stopped breathing for a short period of time but recovered before paramedics arrived at the daycare center.

Daycare workers also informed police that the same child was returned to the facility the morning of the other baby’s death and was found vomiting blood. The child’s parents were contacted and took the infant to a local hospital. Investigators later consulted a child abuse specialist, who expressed concerns that the baby may have been the victim of abuse.

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Common Denominator

The court document states investigators determined there was one common denominator in all of the incidents: Russell was caring for both infants when the incidents occurred.

Confession

When interviewed by investigators, the criminal complaint says the Savage woman initially denied harming the children. However, police later learned of past incidents in which Russell had been accused of starting fires and had a history of 911 hang-up calls. That information led to another interview, during which the court document says Russell confessed and admitted choking the children by placing her fingers in their throats.

Russell’s bail has been set at $3.5 million.