Welcome to Arrest Stories. A twenty-seven-year-old Michigan mother has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after allegedly confessing to police that she suffocated her two-year-old daughter with a bag. Here's what may have happened.
On September third, police and emergency responders were called to a home on South Allan Street in Cedar Springs, Kent County, following a nine-one-one report of a child not breathing. When authorities arrived at the scene, they found two-year-old Ryleigh Whitehead unresponsive. Life-saving measures were attempted, but the child was pronounced dead at the scene.
Initially, Irene Aiyana Whitehead told police that her daughter had experienced some type of breathing episode while the two were alone in the house. The Kent County medical examiner later ruled the cause of death as undetermined, though suffocation or smothering could not be excluded.
Two months later, in November, police interviewed Whitehead again regarding her daughter's death. During this questioning, Whitehead made shocking admissions to investigators. According to police reports, she confessed to repeatedly suffocating Ryleigh with a bag, telling officers she held the bag over her two-year-old daughter's mouth, killing her.
When asked by investigators what she couldn't take anymore, Whitehead reportedly responded, "Being a parent. Hearing her screaming all the time. The cries." She allegedly told police she hoped her daughter "wouldn't be here anymore" and that "she'd die" if she suffocated her. Whitehead also reportedly stated, "I wanted to kill her."
The investigation revealed disturbing additional evidence. Less than a week after Ryleigh's death, Whitehead allegedly searched online for "how hard is it to prove if cause of death is suffocation by bag in toddler."
Whitehead was arrested on November twenty-fifth and charged with first-degree child abuse, felony murder, and first-degree murder. She is being held on a five million dollar bond.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.