A St. Paul woman covered her month-old son's mouth with a blanket Wednesday morning and then pressed a hand into his face, alternating hands for five minutes until the child stopped crying and moving, according to a murder charge filed Thursday.
Shwe Htoo smothered her son, Michael Kyaw Htoo, after the poisoned formula she bottle-fed the infant Tuesday night failed to kill him, authorities allege.
Htoo, 22, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree murder with intent for killing her son, who was born Oct. 12.
"This morning — I killed my own child," Htoo allegedly told police.
Authorities don't know what prompted Htoo to harm her child, said police spokesman Steve Linders. The criminal complaint filed against her did not provide any insight on the motive.
A relative at the family's home said Thursday that they did not wish to comment. At the bottom of a list of names posted above the mailbox was that of the home's newest member handwritten in black ink: Michael Kyaw Htoo.
Authorities arrested Htoo after she attempted suicide by driving a car into a light pole in Como Regional Park about 11 a.m. Wednesday. Her son, already dead, was strapped into a carrier in the vehicle's back seat.
"Medics said Michael Htoo was cold to the touch, had dilated and fixed pupils, and had signs of rigor mortis present," the murder charge said.