An Arizona mother is behind bars after police say she kept her dead 15-month-old son in a freezer for weeks — then called 911, said “I killed him,” and hung up.
What happened, according to police
Ochra Manakaja, 31, told Flagstaff investigators she threw her toddler son into his crib “out of frustration” on April 29 after he wouldn’t stop crying. Court documents say she also admitted to hitting and slapping the child.
After the baby was thrown into the crib, he began vomiting, turned pale, ran a fever, and stopped eating, court documents state. Despite seeing these warning signs, Manakaja did not call for medical help — “because she was scared and afraid of getting into trouble,” documents allege.
She later found the boy unresponsive, face up in his crib, not breathing. Instead of calling 911, she left for a probation appointment related to a prior DUI charge.
Baby hidden in freezer for weeks
When Manakaja returned to the room, court documents allege she wrapped her son in plastic, placed him in a clear container, and put him in the freezer — saying she “did not want him to smell.”
Weeks later, she called 911 from a La Quinta Inn near Huntington Road and Bronco Way in Flagstaff, told a dispatcher “I killed him,” and hung up. Officers arrived to find the baby frozen, “stiff and cold to the touch,” with a body temperature of 26 degrees, police said.
Two other children were in the room
Two other children, ages 7 and 9, were found in the hotel room at the time. They were not hurt and were safely removed by authorities.
Charges and bond
Manakaja was booked into Coconino County Jail on charges of first-degree murder, child abuse, and concealment of a deceased body. She is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.
Court documents note that Manakaja told investigators she “was mad at herself and hated herself for what she did” and acknowledged killing her own child.
