A woman from Arkansas is facing a capital murder charge following the tragic death of an 8-month-old infant, who authorities allege was violently slammed onto the floor.

Erin Sauls, aged 23, operated a daycare out of her residence in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she was entrusted with the care of several young children. On a Tuesday morning, she was responsible for looking after an infant named Elijah Flowerday. According to a report accessed by KATV, an affiliate of ABC, officers from the Little Rock Police Department were called to Sauls’ home with reports that the baby had ceased breathing.

Tragically, Elijah was transported to Arkansas Children’s Hospital but was declared dead upon arrival.

Police reports indicate that Elijah suffered from “a skull fracture and multiple brain bleeds.” Sauls allegedly confessed to officers that while changing the infant’s diaper, she “struck the infant’s head three times against the hardwood floor,” citing frustration and a headache as her reasons.

Following her arrest on Wednesday, Sauls was charged with capital murder. She is being held without bail at the Pulaski County Detention Facility, with her next court appearance set for February 27.

Local NBC affiliate KARK spoke with Aliyah Fulton, who used Sauls’ day care for her two toddler-aged children last July. She stopped bringing them there when Sauls started canceling on her, but she gave her a second chance a few months later. But Fulton told KARK, “Something was telling me literally on my car ride home to pick up my boys, like don’t go back to her.” She stopped using Sauls’ service in October 2025.

Fulton also told KARK that other parents said Sauls was allegedly caring for more than five children at her home, which is against the law for an unlicensed day care operator. According to Sauls’ neighbors, who spoke to KATV, they did not believe she had more than five children at a time.

While Fulton called Sauls a “really sweet person,” she said that if she were convicted of the charge against her, Sauls deserved “prison for life. She doesn’t deserve to see the light of day again.”

The Flowerday family started a GoFundMe for Elijah’s funeral expenses.