Otter Tail County mother killed toddler for crying: Charges

PELICAN RAPIDS, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 27-year-old mother in Otter Tail County is facing charges for allegedly killing her 3-year-old child for crying about food. 

According to court records, Pelican Rapids police officers responded to a call on July 10 around 9:30 p.m. for a 3-year-old who was unresponsive. At the scene, an officer saw the child on the living room floor and started CPR. As first responders continued life-saving measures, officers described the mother sitting on the couch smiling the entire time. The child was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. 

The mother allegedly told police she purposely tried to kill her daughter after she was "continuously crying" for food. She explained her child’s grandmother normally feeds her, but she was not home. She added she attempted to stab her daughter earlier in the night but didn’t. Authorities recovered a knife on the arm of the couch in the living room, charges said.

The mother claimed she "shook and suffocated the child," and the medical examiner found a bite mark on the child’s left cheek and bleeding around her brain. The cause of death is still pending further toxicology, microscopy and investigation, according to court records.

The 27-year-old mother was charged in Otter Tail County Court with second-degree murder and third-degree murder. She made her first court appearance Wednesday morning.