Court documents say the child’s body had been frozen for nearly two weeks before police arrived.
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A 31-year-old Flagstaff mother was jailed after police found her toddler son dead inside a hotel room freezer Sunday morning, according to court documents filed in Coconino County.
Ochra Manakaja faces charges of first-degree murder, child abuse and concealment of a dead body after officers responded to the La Quinta Inn and Suites near Bronco Way and Huntington Road. Two other boys, ages 7 and 9, were found inside the room and were not hurt, police said.
Investigators said Manakaja called 911 shortly after 9:30 a.m. May 17 and reported that her young son was dead. When a dispatcher asked what happened, court documents say she replied, “I killed him,” then hung up. Flagstaff officers arrived minutes later and found the child’s body wrapped in a tote inside a clear plastic box in the freezer. Police said the body temperature was about 26 degrees.
According to court documents, Manakaja told officers she threw the child into his crib April 29 because he had been crying and fussy. She said the boy’s condition worsened over the next two days. He vomited, stopped eating, appeared weak and pale, and was not acting like himself, investigators wrote. Police said she reported that the child developed a fever May 1 but that she did not call relatives or take him to a hospital because she feared getting into trouble.
Manakaja told investigators she later found the child on a couch, face up, with his eyes closed and not breathing. Court documents say she tried to wake him with a cold rag but could not revive him. When officers asked how the child died, she said she believed he may have choked after vomiting while the two older children were at school. Investigators have not released a final cause or manner of death.
Police said Manakaja wrapped the child in a blanket, covered him in plastic, taped the wrapping and placed him in the freezer. Court documents say she told her older sons that the toddler was at a hospital or doctor’s office. Officers said she expressed remorse during questioning and said the child did not deserve to die.
Manakaja was booked into the Coconino County Jail. A judge set her bond at $1 million cash only and barred her from contacting the two older children. The Department of Child Safety said it had received one earlier report involving the family in December 2024, but officials said the state case ended after the child’s tribe claimed jurisdiction.
The case remained under investigation Tuesday as authorities reviewed evidence from the hotel room, court records and statements gathered after the 911 call.
Author note: Last updated May 19, 2026.