Police: Pennsylvania Woman Murdered Boyfriend’s Toddler By Poisoning Her with Acetone

A Pennsylvania woman is accused of fatally poisoning her boyfriend’s 18-month-old daughter with acetone as well as water beads, batteries, and a metal screw, according to officials.

Alesia Owens, 20, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly murdering Iris Rita Alfera after an autopsy revealed that the child died due to fatal levels of acetone in her blood, Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced. Investigators discovered that Owens had allegedly been researching online how to poison children before the baby’s death.

“The details of this case are heartbreaking. It is hard to fathom someone taking deliberate steps to harm a completely helpless child, then mislead investigators about what happened,” Henry said, continuing:

The investigation shows that, for months, the defendant conducted meticulous research on how certain substances harm children. She then allegedly acted on her findings. My office will never stop working to hold individuals accountable who knowingly put the lives of others, especially vulnerable children, at risk.

Emergency responders went to the home of the father, Bailey Jacoby, on June 25, 2023, where he was living with Owens at the time. When they arrived, they found Iris unresponsive and transported her to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Jameson Hospital for treatment. She was later airlifted to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, but she ultimately died on June 29 due to organ failure, officials said.

The medical examiner determined that Iris died from fatal levels of acetone in her blood at the time of death and ruled it a homicide.

In the months before the baby’s death, she had been hospitalized for ingesting roughly 20 water beads, batteries, and a metal screw, officials said. Investigators found that from February to June, Owens had “repeatedly searched for information on household products that could cause a child serious harm or death, including water beads, batteries, and nail polish,” the attorney general’s office said.

“Searches included phrases such as, ‘beauty products that are poisonous to kids’ and ‘medications leading to cause accidental poisoning deaths in children,'” officials added.

Iris lived with her mother, Emily Alfera, and her grandparents, but Jacoby had visitation rights, the New York Post reported. Owens had been living with Jacoby for about a year before the baby’s death.

Owens is facing charges for criminal homicide, as well as attempted homicide, aggravated assault of a child, endangering the welfare of a child, and other offenses related to the baby’s death “and other acts of abuse in months prior,” officials said.

“The death of Iris Alfera has brought pain, sadness, and anger to our community. The New Castle City Police Department has worked tirelessly on this case with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General to bring the person responsible to justice,” New Castle Police Department Chief Robert Salem said. “I am extremely proud of the officers, detectives, and agents who were involved in investigating this complex case and arresting the person who was responsible for the child’s death.”

Owens appeared before Judge Richard A. Russo on Thursday to read her charges. During the proceeding, she sat “dry-eyed and expressionless,” the New Castle News reported. She was taken to Lawrence County Jail, where she is being held without bond.

“We’re happy that they’ve finally arrested her. That’s the first step. It will be a long process in the court system,” the child’s grandfather, Frank Alfera, told the outlet.

Her mother, Emily Alfera, has posted heartbreaking tributes to Iris since her alleged murder.

“I have no words for what has currently happened to my beautiful angel baby, never in my life I thought I would be saying goodbye to the biggest light in my life,” she said in a Facebook post after her baby’s death.