FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — A 23-year-old Needville mother was sentenced to 40 years in prison Monday after she confessed to suffocating her 2-month-old son to death.
Rosemary Paige Harrah called 911 on December 11, 2016 and told police she fed her baby the night before and put him to bed. She claimed when she woke up the next morning her was unresponsive and not breathing.
Needville first responders were called to her home where they pronounced the 2-month-old dead.
Approximately 10 days later, Needville police received an anonymous email reporting that a person using an online name of "Shimmering" posted to a website for new mothers that she was thinking of hurting her baby.
The tipster provided the name of the child and the evidence that the website community advised "Shimmering" to seek counseling or give her child up for her adoption.
A lieutenant with the Needville PD recognized that the tip was super critical after learning the child recently passed away.
The lieutenant immediately called the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office since the child died outside their city limits.
A detective with FBCSO interviewed Harrah and confirmed she was the one who posted on the website using the name "Shimmering."
Harrah ultimately confessed that she suffocated her baby with a blanket until he stopped moving and crying and put him down in his bed. She also said she didn't check on her baby until the next morning because she knew he was probably unconscious or dead.
The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office ruled that suffocation caused the baby's death.
Harrah was indicted by a grand jury for capital murder in March 2017. She plead guilty to the murder on Oct. 7, 2019.
“But for the concern of the anonymous tipster and diligent police work by Lt. Rader and Detective Cantu, this case probably would not have been recognized as a homicide. The follow up on the anonymous tip and subsequent search warrants for the defendant’s communications to the internet web site was critical to this case and helped establish the defendant’s true intent," Assistant District Attorney Melissa Munoz pointed out.
KHOU 11 reached out to Harrah's attorney who said that she was not suffering from postpartum.
Child Abuse Division Deputy Chief Terese Buess noted that the defendant will have to serve one-half of her sentence before she is eligible for parole.
ALSO POPULAR ON KHOU.COM
