A Flagstaff woman is facing multiple felony charges after police say the body of her toddler son was discovered frozen inside a hotel room freezer nearly two weeks after the child’s death.
Authorities say 31-year-old Ochra Manakaja called 911 shortly after 9:30 a.m. Sunday, from a La Quinta Inn & Suites near Interstate 40, and told a dispatcher her child was dead. When asked what happened, she replied, “I killed him,” before hanging up, according to court documents cited by Arizona’s Family and KPNX-TV.
Flagstaff police officers responding to the hotel found the boy’s body wrapped in plastic and placed inside a clear storage container in a freezer. Investigators reported the child’s body temperature was approximately 26 degrees Fahrenheit and described him as “stiff and cold to the touch and obviously frozen.”
Two other children, ages 7 and 9, were also inside the hotel room but were unharmed. They were later removed from the scene by authorities.
Investigators said Manakaja told officers she became frustrated with the toddler on April 29 after he repeatedly cried and complained of stomach pain. According to court documents cited by KPNX, she admitted throwing the child into his crib “out of frustration.”
Police said she later acknowledged she had previously hit, slapped, and thrown the child on other occasions after regaining custody of him in March.
Court documents state the boy’s condition worsened in the following days. Police said the child vomited, stopped eating, developed a fever, and appeared weak and pale.
Despite recognizing something was seriously wrong, Manakaja allegedly did not seek medical treatment because she feared getting into trouble.
Investigators said the child died on May 1 while alone at home with his mother after the older children left for school. Manakaja reportedly told police she believed he may have choked on vomit while lying on a couch.
Instead of calling emergency responders, authorities say she attended a required drug test tied to a DUI probation case, returned home later that day, wrapped the child’s body in blankets and plastic, secured it with tape, and placed it in a freezer. Court records state she later told her older sons the toddler was “at the hospital” or “at the doctor.”
The Arizona Department of Child Safety told KPNX it had previously investigated concerns involving the family and determined the child was unsafe in the home. The agency said custody matters later shifted to the mother’s tribe under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act.
Manakaja was booked into the Coconino County Jail on charges including first-degree murder, child abuse, and concealment of a dead body. Her bond was set at $1 million cash-only.
The case has also renewed attention on Arizona’s Safe Haven law, which allows parents to legally surrender infants younger than 30 days old at designated locations, including hospitals and fire stations, without criminal prosecution.
Advocacy groups in the state also pointed to crisis hotlines and emergency placement resources available to struggling parents.