A Michigan woman will likely spend the rest of her life in prison after pleading guilty to the brutal beating death of her friend’s 3-year-old daughter while babysitting her. Iesha Harris formally admitted to second-degree murder on Monday in the 2024 killing of Harmoni Henderson.
Initially charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse, Harris agreed to a plea deal that reduced the charge to second-degree murder, with the child abuse count dropped. The tragedy unfolded on March 17, 2024, when Detroit police responded to a home in the 15700 block of Southfield Freeway. Prosecutors said Harris, a longtime friend of Harmoni’s mother, was babysitting the toddler at the time.
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Officers found the child with severe traumatic injuries. Harmoni was rushed to a hospital but later succumbed to her wounds. Harris was arrested three days later, on March 30. Detroit Police Special Victims Unit Capt. Laurie Carter told WDIV the case left her deeply disturbed.
“When I arrived at the hospital, the child had already been conveyed by the mother and also a friend,” Carter said. “The child was deceased when I arrived. Nothing like this should ever happen to a child.” Harmoni’s mother told WDIV that Harris “slammed” the toddler’s head into a bathtub, killing her.
“She was having a hard time. My baby is autistic, nonverbal,” the grieving mother said. “I think she got frustrated with her, plus her daughter, and she slammed my baby’s head against the tub.” She added that she had trusted Harris “wholeheartedly” before the tragedy.
Authorities revealed that Harris had locked Harmoni in a room with her 1-year-old for about three hours while smoking marijuana. When she returned and found Harmoni had vomited, she allegedly became enraged.
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“Ms. Harris admitted to police she poured scalding water on top of the 3-year-old and slammed her head against the side of the bathtub,” Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Douglas told WDIV. WJBK reported that the boiling water was poured on Harmoni’s head and face.
Harris allegedly lied to the child’s mother, claiming Harmoni had fallen down the stairs but was otherwise fine. The next day, Harmoni’s mother arrived to find her daughter unresponsive in bed. “She was already dead from the moment that I got there,” the mother told WJBK. “She was gone.” Harris is set for sentencing on May 29 before Circuit Judge Kelly Ramsey and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
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