Inset: Ochra Manakaja (Coconino County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Arizona hotel where police say Ochra Manakaja's baby son was found dead after she called 911 and said, "I killed him" (AZFamily/YouTube).
An Arizona mother stashed her dead baby son in a freezer for weeks before she finally called 911 and told a dispatcher, "I killed him," then hung up, cops say.
Ochra Manakaja, 31, told Flagstaff police that she hurled her 15-month-old into his crib "out of frustration" on April 29 because he was crying and fussy, according to court documents obtained by local NBC affiliate KPNX.
Manakaja called 911 from a room at a La Quinta Inn and Suites near Huntington Road and Bronco Way and allegedly admitted to murdering the child. When cops arrived, they reportedly found the baby wrapped in plastic inside a clear plastic box, with a body temperature of 26 degrees. Two other children, ages 7 and 9, were apparently in the hotel room with her; they were not hurt and were safely removed.
Police said in the court documents that Manakaja's son was "stiff and cold to the touch and obviously frozen," KPNX reports. She allegedly told investigators that in addition to throwing him into his crib, Manakaja also "hit" and "slapped" the child.
Manakaja said her son's crying had woken her up that morning and she had been trying to put him back to sleep, according to the court documents. "He remained fussy and kept touching his stomach as if complaining about stomach pain," the documents state.
Manakaja allegedly told police that "the crying got worse" after he was "thrown" into his crib and he "landed." She said her son started vomiting, refused to eat, looked pale and weak, and was "not acting like himself," per the court documents. He also allegedly had a fever and felt very hot to the touch.
"Despite knowing something was seriously wrong, Ochra did not call doctors, family members, or seek any medical help because she was scared and afraid of getting into trouble," the court documents state.
Asked how her baby died, Manakaja allegedly told police she "thought he choked on his throw-up." She checked on him after throwing the boy into the crib and found him "laying face up with his eyes closed" and he was not breathing, per cops.
"She stated she thought about calling 911 but did not do so," the court documents allege. "Instead, she let him continue to lay there."
Manakaja allegedly told investigators that she left to go to a probation appointment for a prior DUI charge. When she returned, she decided to wrap her son up and put him in a freezer "because she did not want him to smell," according to the court documents.
"She stated she was mad at herself and hated herself for what she did," the documents state. "She acknowledged that she killed her own baby."
Manakaja was arrested and booked into the 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.