In a tragic turn of events, a Michigan mother, who had once been vocal about her newborn daughter’s fight against a rare and deadly virus two years prior, now faces serious charges. She has been arrested for allegedly taking the life of her daughter, having reportedly confessed to suffocating the child multiple times using a bag.

Irene Aiyana Whitehead, aged 27, was apprehended last week and is now facing charges of first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse following the death of her young daughter, Ryleigh Whitehead, earlier this year, according to official records.

Police were called to Whitehead’s residence in Cedar Springs on September 3, where they discovered the child unresponsive and not breathing. Unfortunately, Ryleigh was declared dead at the scene. Authorities noted that Whitehead was the only adult present in the home at the time of Ryleigh’s death.

According to court documents accessed by WOOD, an NBC affiliate in Grand Rapids, Whitehead’s police interview revealed disturbing details. She allegedly confessed not only to Ryleigh’s death but also to the death of Ryleigh’s brother, Leonard. Leonard was just two months old when he passed away, reportedly from the same rare virus that Ryleigh had contracted as a newborn.

Initially, Leonard’s death had been ruled as natural, with the cause listed as “parainfluenza viral-type pneumonia,” according to the station’s report.

According to the report, Whitehead on Nov. 25 wrote and signed a statement reading “I Killed them,” referring to Ryleigh and Leonard.

Police said she confessed to suffocating Ryleigh with a bag several times during the interview. When asked what she hoped to accomplish, Whitehead allegedly replied she intended that Ryleigh “wouldn’t be here anymore” and that “she’d die.” She also reportedly told police that the stress of having children was too much, saying she “couldn’t take it anymore” and “just wanted it to stop.”

Based on the interview, authorities said they no longer believe Ryleigh or Leonard had ever suffered from parainfluenza.

“Why did you keep putting Ryleigh in the hospital? Was that because you were doing that to make her look sick so later on you could kill her?” a detective asked, per the affidavit.

“I wanted to kill her,” Whitehead allegedly responded.

The detective then asked when Whitehead made the decision to kill her daughter.

“Right after she was born,” she replied.

Video evidence recovered by investigators also appeared to corroborate the heinous way Whitehead seemed to have treated her children. One video supposedly filmed less than a month before Ryleigh’s death was particularly alarming. It reportedly showed one of Whitehead’s older children saying to his mother, “you never even wanted me, you only want me to die. I know you want me to die.” Before the footage ends, the child reportedly says to Whitehead, “just kill me already.”

Additionally, less than a week after Ryleigh’s death, investigators found Whitehead had performed an internet search for “how hard is it to prove if cause of death is suffocation by bag in toddler.”

The medical examiner who conducted Ryleigh’s autopsy was unable to determine the toddler’s cause of death, but noted that asphyxia could “not be excluded.” He reportedly plans to update the manner of death to homicide in light of the recent revelations.

Whitehead has not been charged in the 2021 death of her son, but prosecutors said such charges remain a possibility.

In September 2023, Whitehead spoke to Grand Rapids ABC affiliate WZZM about Ryleigh’s supposed battle with parainfluenza, telling the station that Ryleigh was recovering from her bout with the rare variant of the common virus and even offering advice for parents of sick children.

“Definitely trust your gut instinct, especially when it comes to your children,” Whitehead said after discussing the difficult diagnosis. She also spoke about Leonard, claiming she was shocked by the infant’s sudden death.

“I have went through this before. I had a son two years ago who passed away from parainfluenza,” she claimed. “He just had a cough and then the next day he passed away.”

Whitehead is being held in the Kent County Jail on $5 million bond. She is currently scheduled to appear in court again for her arraignment on Dec. 10.