Savage, MN – An 18-year-old daycare worker is in custody, accused of murdering an 11-month-old boy by suffocation in what police describe as a calculated, attention-seeking act that followed two prior attempts on another infant at the same facility.
Thea Russell faces charges of second-degree murder and 𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒶𝓊𝓁𝓉 following a three-month investigation into the death of Harvey Mucklebust. Authorities allege Russell intentionally suffocated the child on September 22 at the Rocking Horse Ranch daycare, just days before his first birthday.
Police were initially dispatched to the center on Louisiana Avenue South after a 911 call reported an infant unconscious and not breathing. Despite life-saving efforts, Harvey was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly after 11:30 a.m. The tragic incident prompted an immediate closure of the facility and a complex investigation.
Detectives quickly identified a disturbing pattern. Their probe revealed Russell was the common employee present during two prior medical emergencies involving a four-month-old girl at the same daycare just days before Harvey’s death.
On September 19, that infant was found briefly not breathing with blood and foam around her nose and mouth. She recovered. That following Monday, September 22, the same child was found unresponsive again shortly after returning to daycare. Mere hours later, Russell reported Harvey in distress.
“A clear pattern emerged,” said a Savage Police Department representative. “Thea Russell was a common denominator. Her behavior and actions at the scene immediately raised suspicion.”
Investigators say their focus intensified on Russell, who had been employed at the center for only three weeks. During questioning, police allege Russell confessed to intentionally suffocating both children as an attention-seeking act.
“She provided detailed descriptions of how she carried out the attempts against the life of the first victim on two separate occasions and she confessed to the murder of Harvey Mucklebust,” authorities stated.
The investigation uncovered a documented history of concerning behavior in Russell’s past. Police learned of previous attention-seeking actions, including making nonsensical 911 calls and hanging up, alongside incidents involving starting fires at a church camp and erratic behavior toward children.
“Based on the totality of the evidence… we had probable cause to believe Thea Russell intentionally suffocated these children on three occasions to seek attention and that that third incident tragically resulted in the death of Harvey Mucklebust,” officials concluded.
Harvey’s family expressed profound grief and a determined quest for justice. His grandmother, Julie Mucklebust, spoke on behalf of parents Hunter and Catherine at a recent news conference.
“Harvey was such a blessing to our family and his death has left a tremendous hole in our hearts,” she said. “Harvey’s fingerprints are on my sliding glass door and his drool stains still show on his crib sheets. Those are the little things that I’m not ready to wash away.”
The family thanked investigators for their diligent work and vowed to honor Harvey’s memory. “Every day we ask ourselves why it had to be you… But we promise that every day we will say your name. Every day we will continue to fight for you and in the end we will make sure that justice has been served.”
The Rocking Horse Ranch daycare, which advertised national accreditation and a four-star rating, has had its license suspended. The suspension is currently under appeal according to state records. Serious questions remain about the center’s hiring and supervision practices, particularly concerning a new employee being left alone with vulnerable infants.
Russell appeared for a bond hearing last Friday, where a judge set bail at $3.5 million. She is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree 𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒶𝓊𝓁𝓉, and third-degree 𝒶𝓈𝓈𝒶𝓊𝓁𝓉. Her first court appearance is scheduled for February 4.
The case has sent shockwaves through the Savage community and raised urgent questions about daycare oversight and the detection of severe behavioral issues in caregivers. As the legal process begins, a family mourns a child described as “pure happiness and sunshine,” whose life was cut devastatingly short.