After losing custody, Twin Cities woman allegedly fed 18-month-old daughter fatal overdose

A Champlin woman is charged with fatally poisoning her 18-month-old daughter in her Champlin home the same day she lost custody of the girl, according to murder charges filed this week.

Maige Elizabeth Yang, 23, was charged on Jan. 13 in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder in connection with De’Ali Delgado’s fatal overdose on sleeping medication on Jan. 9.

Yang, who police say tried to kill herself at the same time the girl was poisoned, was in a Twin Cities hospital under police custody at the time the charges were filed, according to the criminal complaint. She has since been booked into jail and remains held in lieu of $1.5 million bail ahead of a Jan. 14 court appearance.

Court records do not list an attorney for Yang, nor is there an initial court date for her.

Erick Delgado, who won temporary custody of De’Ali, wrote on Facebook on Jan. 9, “Today I got custody of you …. FINALLY….. it was also the day I lost the only human being I was fighting for to keep in my life.“

Delgado, while living in Lakeville, petitioned the court for permanent custody in September. He followed up on Jan. 2 with an emergency petition seeking temporary sole custody of De’Ali, alleging Yang “is demonstrating erratic behavior and believes she may have untreated mental health issues.”

On Jan. 3, Champlin police issued a missing person alert that said Yang and her daughter had not been seen by family for nearly a week. The alert was canceled within hours once Yang and De’Ali turned up safe.

According to the complaint:

Police were alerted in a 911 call to a child being in distress at the home. Officers found the girl on the living room floor and not breathing. Officers attempted to revive De’Ali before emergency medical responders took her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Officers then found Yang in an upstairs bedroom “partially unconscious ... after attempting suicide,” the complaint read. Emergency responders took her to a hospital, where she was admitted under police supervision.

Yang’s father told police that, while checking on Yang, he forced open the bedroom door and found De’Ali on the floor with her lips turning blue. He said he grabbed his granddaughter, ran downstairs and called 911.

While in police custody, Yang admitted to investigators that she put a “significant amount” of children’s sleeping medication in her daughter’s bottle and fed it to her “to make the pain go away,” the complaint continued.