FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A baby found dead in an Arizona hotel room had been frozen for nearly two weeks, court documents show.
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Court documents state that a woman called 911 on May 17, stating her 15-month-old baby was dead. When the dispatcher asked what happened, she responded:
“I killed him.”
The caller then hung up.
According to court documents, police officers found the child wrapped in plastic inside a clear plastic box. The body was “stiff and cold to the touch and obviously frozen,” and court documents state the body was about 26 degrees Fahrenheit.
31-year-old Ochra Manakaja from Flagstaff was identified as the mother. She was arrested and is facing charges of homicide, child abuse and concealment of a dead body, the city’s police department said.
Manakaja told police in an interview that she hurt her son a couple of weeks ago. She said she dropped her son, but later said he had been crying and she had “thrown him into his crib out of frustration.” Court documents state she also “hit, slapped,” and threw her son several times since she got him back in her custody in March of 2026.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety told 12News that the department had received a prior report that the child was unsafe in this family.
DCS attempted to take custody of the child after the report, but the mother’s tribe asserted jurisdiction and took custody of the child.
“If the Department receives a report on a child who is enrolled in, or eligible for enrollment in, a tribe, the Department and the tribe share concurrent jurisdiction under the Indian Child Welfare Act to investigate and take custody of the child,” said AZDCS.
In her interview with police, Manakaja said on April 29, her son’s crying had woken her up. She had been trying to calm him down all morning, but “he remained fussy and kept touching his stomach as if complaining about stomach pain,” court documents state.
After her two older sons left for school, Manakaja told police that she threw her baby into his crib “out of frustration.” He landed on his back and “the crying got worse after he landed,” court documents state.
Manakaja told police that her baby was throwing up, not eating, looked weak and pale, and overall was not acting like himself after she threw him in the crib. His symptoms continued until May 1, three days later, when he died.
On the day of his death, he had a fever, Manakaja told police in her interview; he was very hot to the touch, but Manakaja did not have a thermometer.
“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,” court documents state.
When police asked Manakaja how her baby died, she told police she “thought he choked on his throw-up.” The baby and Manakaja were home by themselves, and he had not been eating that day. The baby was on the couch, and Manakaja said she thought he was sleeping for approximately two hours while she was in the kitchen.
When she checked on the baby, he was “laying face up with his eyes closed and was not breathing,” court docs state.
Manakaja told police she tried waking him up by wetting his face and body with a cold washcloth, but he did not wake up.
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“She stated she thought about calling 911 but did not do so,” court documents state. “Instead, she let him continue to lay there.”
On the same day her baby died, Manakaja had a UA appointment as part of her probation requirements for a DUI. According to court documents, she “did not want to go anywhere,” but she left her baby’s body at her apartment and went to the appointment. Her baby had been dead for two to three hours at that point, she told police, and when she returned home in the evening, she wrapped her baby and placed him in the freezer.
She told police she wrapped her baby in a blanket, then in plastic and secured everything with tape before placing him in the freezer. She covered the door to the freezer with duct tape and told police she did so “because she did not want him to smell.”
Manakaja told her older sons that the baby was at the hospital or doctor’s office, court documents state.
She told police she had been the sole caretaker for all three children for the past year, with no one to help care for or visit them. Manakaja said no one else hurt her baby, only her.
According to court documents, through her interview, Manakaja “expressed remorse and stated multiple times that she ‘[expletive] up.'”
“She stated she was mad at herself and hated herself for what she did,” court documents say. “She acknowledged that she killed her own baby.”
The following is the full statement from the Arizona Department of Child Services:
The Department extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by the tragic death of a one-year-old child. Our thoughts are with the child’s loved ones and community during this difficult time.
The Department received one prior report involving this family in December 2024. Following an investigation, the Department determined the child was unsafe and obtained court authorization to take custody. However, after we removed the child, the mother’s tribe asserted jurisdiction and assumed custody of the child.
If the Department receives a report on a child who is enrolled in or eligible for enrollment in a tribe, the Department and the tribe share concurrent jurisdiction under the Indian Child Welfare Act to investigate and take custody of the child. The tribe may request that the matter be transferred to tribal court at any time, as occurred in this case. Once the matter is transferred, DCS is no longer involved, and all decisions regarding the child’s case, including case plan, placement, and permanency decisions, are handled by the tribal court and tribal social services.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Flagstaff Police Department at 928-774-1414 or provide information anonymously through Silent Witness at 928‑774‑6111.
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