Phoenix woman accused of feeding NyQuil to infant child who later died

A Phoenix woman is accused of murder and child abuse following a deadly incident involving a one-month-old infant, according to police.

The incident, according to court documents, happened in late July of 2023, but the suspect was arrested on Jan. 5, 2024.

Here are the details on what happened.

Who's the suspect?

In court documents, investigators identified the suspect as 24-year-old Sara Lashae Harris.

What is the suspect accused of doing?

Arizona mother accused of murder, child abuse

Police officials say the woman, who they identify as Sara Harris, admitted to feeding her infant child NyQuil and melatonin before leaving the infant and another child unattended for 37 hours.

The incident that led to Harris' arrest, as mentioned above, happened in 2023.

According to court documents, Phoenix Police officers were called to a home on the morning of July 30 for reports of an infant not breathing.

When officers arrived, they found the infant lying on a mattress on the living room floor. The child was found unresponsive, and was declared dead at the scene.

The infant's exact identity was not released, but the infant was identified as Harris' child. The cause of death was later determined to be "tracheal mucus plugging in the setting on Rhinovirus Enterovirus, Chlorpheniramine intoxication, and unsafe sleep environment."

According to WebMD, Chlorpheniramine is an antihistamine that is used to relieve symptoms of allergy, hay fever, and the common cold.

"[Harris] informed investigators that her infant was fussy the night prior. She last fed the baby at [10:30 p.m.]. [Harris] said she gave her infant ibuprofen with a syringe at approximately [5:00 p.m.] on July 29, 2023. She carried the baby around the apartment until they laid down to sleep at [2:30 a.m.]," investigators wrote in court documents.

Investigators said Harris left the apartment on July 30. After she was let back inside, she found her child unresponsive, and called her parents.

Harris' parent later went to Harris' apartment, and it was Harris' mother who called 911, according to investigators.

Court documents state that investigators received a search warrant to search the home on the same day.

"Investigators located a bottle of Children's NyQuil for 6 years and older, red in color, and a syringe with red liquid remnants that appeared the same color as the NyQuil in the kitchen on top of the microwave," read a portion of the court documents. "Investigators also located a shopping bag in the trash can, which was similar to the one [Harris] was carrying in the surveillance footage entering the apartment. Also, in the trash can, investigators located a baby bottle filled with what appeared to be white milk, that had a pinkish hue to it and red liquid in the nipple of the bottle."

According to police, Harris' story, as initially told to officers, had discrepancies, and a search warrant was later obtained to extract the contents of her mobile phone.

"Multiple emails were observed from the shelter [Harris] was living at, advising her that she could not leave her children alone on the property," read a portion of the court documents. "A text conversation was observed on [Harris'] cell phone between [Harris] and an unknown person on July 28, 2023, between [11:18 a.m.] to [3:22 p.m.]."

The text conversation, which was summarized by investigators in court documents, contained language that can be considered lurid, in which Harris and the unknown person discussed sexual acts for payment, and whether sexual acts may be performed in a car. Police also said that Harris was seen, on video, leaving the apartment at around 3:53 p.m. on July 28, and returning at around 4:42 p.m. the same day.

Harris, according to court documents, was detained on Jan. 5 by police, and brought to the police headquarters for interviews. The interview was done after Harris was read her Miranda rights, and during the interview, Harris "admitted to leaving her six-week-old infant and 17-month-old toddler home alone on Friday night, July 28, 2023, and not returning until Sunday morning, July 30, 2023."

In addition, police said Harris admitted to "administering NyQuil and melatonin to the infant victim via bottle prior to leaving them unattended for 37 hours," and "taking illicit street drugs, drinking alcohol during the timeframe she left the infant victim and child victim at home unattended." Harris also admitted to going to a Tempe nightclub.