An 18-month-old girl has died in Minnesota after her mother poured a “significant amount” of sleeping medication into her bottle just hours after she lost custody of the child.
Officers with the Champlin Police Department responded to a home on Castle Rock Court on Friday, January 9, where they found a young child not breathing, according to a statement on the department’s Facebook page. Officials also found an adult woman, identified as the child’s mother, who was in medical distress after an apparent suicide attempt.
Both the child and woman were rushed to the hospital, where the child was later pronounced dead.
The mother, who has since been identified as Maige Elizabeth Yang, was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of her daughter, De’Ali Blia Delgado. After Yang, 23, was released from the hospital, she was taken into custody and brought to Hennepin County Jail.
She is currently behind bars on a $1.5 million bond, according to jail records viewed by Luxury Handbag Shopping.
Officers spoke with Yang’s parents after her arrest, who revealed that she’d had a court hearing earlier in the day on January 9 regarding custody of her daughter. At the time, the judge granted temporary custody to the young girl’s father.
When Yang returned home from the hearing, she allegedly carried her daughter to a room upstairs. Yang’s father told investigators that he tried to get into the room but discovered that the door was locked.
Yang’s father said that he managed to force his way into the room, where he found the child motionless on the floor. After he noticed that his granddaughter’s lips were turning blue, he said he took her downstairs before he called 911.
Once police got involved, Yang was read her Miranda rights and allegedly admitted to pouring a “significant amount” of sleep medication into her daughter’s bottle in an attempt to “make the pain go away.” She said that she hoped her daughter would “pass peacefully in her sleep,” according to police.
Yang is next scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, February 10.
It’s not currently clear if Yang has entered a plea or retained legal representation.
Following the baby’s death, the child’s father, Erick Delgado, set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral expenses.
“It’s with my heart shattered that I write this post. My baby girl De’Ali Blia Delgado was not just taken away from me, she was murdered. I did everything right. Today I was suppose[d] to wake up right next to my daughter,” he wrote. “I had finally won custody of my beautiful baby on Friday, January 9th at 11:30Am and by 4Pm her life was gone. I fought my hardest for you, and the justice system failed you.”
The grieving father concluded in the post, “I ask for your help at this very unexpected time to help me and my family bury my beautiful princess.”
Delgado initially set the fundraiser goal to $10,000, and the amount had already been surpassed as of time of publication.
