By admin 
FLAGSTAFF (AZFamily) — Questions are emerging about who was responsible for protecting a young child found dead in a Flagstaff hotel room, after a previous child safety case involving the same toddler was transferred from Arizona’s Department of Child Safety to a tribal child welfare agency.
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Police say 32-year-old Ochra Manakaja called officers to a hotel Sunday and admitted her toddler son had died weeks earlier. Investigators say the 17-month-old’s body was kept in a freezer for weeks before police were called.
Previous DCS investigation
DCS had investigated the family in late 2024 and determined that the boy, then a newborn, was unsafe. A judge approved taking him into state custody, but because the family is Native American, the case shifted under a federal law called the Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA.
“This will become an excuse, or very well may in Arizona, to try to undermine that law, even though on balance, that law has been vitally important and has made all children safer,” said child welfare expert Richard Wexler.
Wexler said the law protects tribal sovereignty and keeps Native children connected to their culture and families, but it is now raising questions about whether warning signs were missed.
According to a probable cause statement, Manakaja regained custody of her toddler son weeks before he died in April.
“Until we know more about what it was that led to this horror, it’s going to be hard to know why that was the case and hard to know whether or not the tribal agency that ultimately took charge had reason without benefit of hindsight to know something like this could happen,” Wexler said.
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Unanswered questions
Major unanswered questions remain in the case, including what happened after custody was returned to Manakaja in March.
DCS and tribal representatives have been contacted for more information, but details remain limited because of confidentiality laws involving child welfare cases.
Once the tribe asserts jurisdiction under the Indian Child Welfare Act, DCS no longer has legal authority in that case. The law is designed to keep Native children in Native foster homes.
“All child welfare agencies make terrible, tragic mistakes. Tribal agencies make terrible mistakes. State agencies like DCS make terrible mistakes,” Wexler said.
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