Photo: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office
A Phoenix mother was arrested following a months-long investigation into the death of her six-week-old child. According to KNXV, Phoenix police officers were called to the woman's home on July 30, 2023, because the child was not breathing.
Firefighters attempted to perform CPR, but the child was pronounced dead at the scene.
The child's mother, 24-year-old Sara Harris, initially told police she gave the child ibuprofen the night before because they were being "fussy." She said that she woke up in the morning and went out for a few minutes but got locked out of her house. After she got her keys, she found the infant unconscious and called her parents, who then called 911 when they arrived.
However, investigators found evidence that she wasn't telling the truth about what happened. Surveillance footage showed Harris leaving her home on Friday night and then showed her returning on Sunday, roughly 37 hours later.
When questioned by police on January 5, 2024, Harris admitted that she left the infant and her 17-month-old child alone while she went out clubbing over the weekend. Before she left, she gave the infant children NyQuil and melatonin.
While Harris was out, she admitted to drinking and doing drugs, and police found text messages indicating she was offered money for sex as well.
Harris was taken into custody and is facing charges of charges of second-degree murder and child abuse.