Girl Arrested For Killing Boyfriend's Toddler With Batteries, Acetone, Screws Fed To The 18-month-old

Owens had been living with Jacoby at his New Castle home, when he left the house to go to the store on June 25, 2023. She then called on the phone to tell him that something was wrong with his daughter, apparently after poisoning the toddler.

Jacoby rushed back home to find his baby girl unresponsive and quickly called 911.

Iris was rushed to UPMC Jameson Hospital in New Castle, Pa., for treatment but she was later airlifted roughly one hour away to UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. The toddler died four days later due to organ failure.

Owens had told police that the girl had hit her head after she “cramped up” and fell off her bed, according to the complaint. However, the autopsy showed that the toddler had ingested numerous “water beads,” along with button-shaped batteries and a metal screw, months before she died, according to Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry’s Office. The 20-year-old was arrested on Thursday for the suspected homicide of Iris after an autopsy determined the child died due to fatal levels of acetone in her blood.

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

Emily Alfera posted heartbreaking tributes to her daughter Iris, a day after her death: “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.”

A search of Owens’ phone revealed she had been looking up “information on household products that could cause a child serious harm or death, including water beads, batteries, and nail polish,” from February to June 2023.

Police found she had also searched “beauty products that are poisonous to kids” and “medications leading to cause accidental poisoning deaths in children.”

Acetone is found in nail polish remover.

New Castle Police Chief Robert Salem said the wicked findings on Owens’ phone were a “crucial piece of the evidence against her.”

“The details of this case are heartbreaking. It is hard to fathom someone taking deliberate steps to harm a completely helpless child, then misled investigators about what happened,” Henry said in a statement. “The investigation shows that, for months, the defendant conducted meticulous research on how certain substances harm children. She then allegedly acted on her findings.”

Owens had been living with boyfriend Jacoby for about a year before she allegedly killed his daughter.

Police did not arrest Jacoby in connection with his daughter’s death because “at this time, there is no evidence at all linking him or anyone else to the baby’s death,” Salem told New Castle News. “There was nothing throughout the investigation to show that he had any knowledge or involvement about what happened to the baby. He was questioned multiple times and was cooperative.”

Owens faces a homicide charge and was also slapped with attempted homicide, aggravated assault of a child, endangering the welfare of a child, and “other offenses regarding conduct leading to the baby’s death and other acts of abuse in months prior.”

The suspect appeared in front of Judge Richard A. Russo on Thursday to be read her charges, where she reportedly sat “dry-eyed and expressionless.” She was later taken to Lawrence County Jail and is being held without bond.