Irene Aiyana Whitehead, a 27-year-old mother from Michigan, was recently charged with open murder and first-degree child abuse for the 2021 death of her 2-month-old son, Leonard, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office and Kent County Prosecutor’s Office announced during a news conference on Tuesday.
According to The Mirror US, the newborn’s death had previously been considered to be caused by parainfluenza virus and was ruled a natural death.
“I had a son two years ago who passed away from parainfluenza. He just had a cough and then the next day he passed away,” she told Grand Rapids ABC affiliate WZZM in September 2023, before her arrest.
The investigation opened again when authorities responded to Whitehead’s Cedar Springs home on September 3, 2025, where they found her two-year-old daughter, Ryleigh, unresponsive and not breathing. According to the police, Irene was the only person present at the scene when Ryleigh passed away.
During a police interview, following Ryleigh’s death, Irene allegedly confessed to killing both her children, her 2-year-old daughter, Ryleigh, and 2-month-old son, Leonard.
Authorities in Kent County, Michigan, have charged 27-year-old Irene Aiyana Whitehead with first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse in the 2021 death of her 2-month-old son, Leonard, following her earlier charges in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Ryleigh. According… pic.twitter.com/HODnuUrsQt
— Robbie Harvey (@therobbieharvey) January 15, 2026
On November 15, she wrote and signed a statement referring to both her deceased children, noting, “I killed them,” per reports cited by WOOD.
The authorities further claimed that the Michigan mother confessed multiple times during the interrogation and admitted that she had suffocated her 2-year-old daughter with a bag.
When inquired about her intentions, she responded that Ryleigh “wouldn’t be here anymore” and that “she’d die.” During the interview, the mother-of-two had also alleged that she “couldn’t take it anymore” and “just wanted it to stop.”
Considering Irene Whitehead’s statements during the interrogation, the authorities no longer assumed that any of her children had suffered from parainfluenza.
At another point in the interview, when the detective asked Irene about Ryleigh’s visits to the hospital, questioning whether the visits were to show that the 2-year-old was sick, so that she could go on to kill her, the woman responded saying, “I wanted to kill her.”
When pressed, Irene further confessed that she had planned to murder Ryleigh right after she had been born. Following this, the mother was charged with open murder and first-degree child abuse in the death of Ryleigh, according to a news release by the Kent County Sheriff’s Office on December 1, 2025.
“The Kent County Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit and Michigan Child Protective Services initiated an investigation that developed evidence of abuse,” the statement read.
“Specialists in the field of child abuse from across the country assisted in the investigation, including our federal partners and Retired Detective Mike Weber of Tarrant County, Texas Sheriff’s Office (Fort Worth),” it continued.
“On November 25, 2025, Irene Whitehead, the mother of the child, was arrested and lodged at Kent County Correctional Facility. This arrest follows months of investigation, which included many interviews and search warrants,” the statement concluded.
⚠️ WARNING: This post describes child murder & suffocation
Irene Aiyana Whitehead, 27, of Michigan, has been arrested & charged with first-degree murder & first-degree child abuse in the death of her young daughter, Ryleigh Whitehead. Authorities were called to her Cedar Springs… pic.twitter.com/eqMNDweEGa
— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) December 3, 2025
Meanwhile, a video recorded on August 25, 2025, and recovered from Irene’s online archives appeared to capture a girl screaming in the dark, footage authorities say the woman claimed was of her daughter, per FOX 17.
“You never even wanted me. You only want me to die. I know you want me to die. Just kill me already,” said the girl.
According to Chief Assistant Prosecutor Elizabeth Bartlett, Irene Whitehead, who is currently being held in the Kent County Jail without bond, will not be offered a plea deal.
She is scheduled to be arraigned on the additional charges on January 14, with a preliminary examination in Ryleigh’s death set for February 9.
