Police: Minnesota Childcare Worker, 18, Arrested for Smothering Two Children on the Same Day, Killing One

A teenage worker at a daycare center near Minneapolis allegedly suffocated two children — one of them resulting in his death days before his first birthday — in an attempt to attract “attention,” police said this week.

Theah Loudemia Russell, 18, allegedly confessed to “intentionally suffocating” two children at the Rocking Horse Ranch child care center in Savage, located about 20 miles south of the Twin Cities, authorities said in a news conference earlier this week.

Russell reportedly had only been working at the center for three weeks. She was arrested on murder and related charges Tuesday morning.

After she became a suspect, a three-month investigation revealed she had “a documented history of attention-seeking behavior” expressed through “nonsensical” 911 calls, fire-starting and other