By admin 
FLAGSTAFF, AZ (AZFamily) — A woman accused of killing her toddler son and then hiding his body for weeks pleaded not guilty Monday.
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Ochra Manakaja, 31, entered not-guilty pleas to charges including first-degree and second-degree murder, concealment of a dead body, and 18 charges of child abuse.
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Manakaja reportedly admitted to police on May 17 that she killed her 17-month-old child and hid his body in a freezer for two weeks.
Court documents state she called 911, telling dispatchers, “I killed him,” and then hung up. Police responded to La Quinta Inn and Suites near Huntington Road and Bronco Way and found the toddler’s body wrapped in a tote that was inside a clear plastic box.
She reportedly told police she threw the toddler into his crib because she was frustrated with his crying and fussing. The child reportedly died two days later on May 1.
Manakaja was raised by both of her parents on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, according to documents. She attended Flagstaff High School, but did not graduate.
She had never been married, but had two children at the time of her arrest in 2020.
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She once worked as a teacher’s aide. The report states she admitted she first tried meth at 16 and used it weekly.
The toddler who died was reportedly taken away from her by Arizona DCS shortly after he was born in December 2024, but the Havasupai tribe asserted jurisdiction and took the child.
Manakaja told police she had just regained custody of the baby shortly before he died, according to police reports.
Police said Manakaja’s two other children were found with her when she was arrested. There’s been no update on the status of those children.
Manakaja will return to court for her next appearance scheduled for July 20.
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