JEALOUS GIRLFRIEND DOES THE UNTHINKABLE! | The HEARTBREAKING Case of IRIS ALFERA

We have new details tonight in a heartbreaking story out of New Castle. Police have charged a woman in the death of 18-month-old Iris Alfera last summer.

“You get over here, you don’t run away with that.”

20-year-old Aleisia Owens is facing a number of charges, including criminal homicide. Investigators with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office said she planned ways to kill the child. They said she researched it online and looked for things like household products that could cause serious harm to a child. Owens was dating the little girl’s father.

New Castle, Pennsylvania, is located about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. It’s a historic town with small-town charm and wonderful people. On June 25th, 2023, a 911 call from the home of baby Iris’s father would uncover a monster was living among the good people of New Castle. What would soon be uncovered would devastate Iris’s family and the community.

Remembering Baby Iris

Iris Rita Alfera was born on December 2nd, 2021, in Butler, Pennsylvania. Her family says that from the moment of her birth, her smile radiated with the brilliance of a thousand sunsets and her eyes sparkled with the wonder of a million stars. She brought joy and laughter to her family that loved her fiercely.

Baby Iris lived with her mother, Emily, and her grandparents. Emily loved to dress herself and Iris in matching outfits. You can see the love and joy Iris brought her mother and her family in these heartwarming photos and videos. Let’s take a moment and get to know baby Iris Rita Alfera.

(Home video audio: “What time is it?”)

Red Flags and A System Failure

Back in the spring of 2023, Iris’s mother became concerned for her daughter when Iris had to be taken to the hospital after swallowing water beads, batteries, and a screw that were found in her excrement after visiting with her father and his girlfriend. A criminal complaint was filed with Lawrence County Children and Youth Services. But as we find so many times in these cases, no action was taken by the agency, and visits with the father were allowed to continue. This lack of action on the part of child services would lead to a mother’s worst nightmare.

The family created a Facebook page called Iris’s Angels. It’s a beautiful page where they keep the public updated and share so many precious photos and videos of baby Iris. A post from December 30th, 2023, seems to refer to the fact they were trying to get the court to remove visitation from the father prior to Iris’s death. It reads:

“CPS, judges, and attorneys, make a New Year’s resolution to do better. Save a child’s life. Stop bullying a loving parent into agreeing to a closed-door deal. Look at our happy, smart, and healthy baby’s face. Remember her name and her sweet face for the rest of your careers. Iris Rita Alfera. Say her name out loud. Say her name New Year’s Eve, say her name New Year’s Day, say her name every day of your career, and remember why she isn’t here with us to be cherished as every child deserves to be.”

A Tragic Emergency

On June 25th, 2023, a call to 911 from Iris’s father was placed. He stated she was unresponsive. The first responders found Iris breathing but with fixed, glazed eyes. She was taken to UPMC Jameson in New Castle and then flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she died four days later.

An autopsy by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office revealed Iris died from acetone poisoning, which caused organ failure. Acetone, a solvent that is used in household products including nail polish remover, can cause nausea, vomiting, and pain. According to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, doctors found Iris also had bleeding in her brain and hemorrhages of both retinas. Physicians with UPMC Children’s Child Advocacy Center told detectives that any reasonable caretaker would have recognized significant changes in Iris’s cognition.

After learning that Iris’s condition might have been the result of child harm, police interviewed her father and his girlfriend, who were caring for her that day. They told police that Iris had vomited several times in the past 24 hours but otherwise seemed normal. At the time of Iris’s medical emergency, police said Iris’s father was at a local grocery store. His girlfriend called him and told him that Iris was lethargic. He told her to call 911 and rushed home. He told police that his girlfriend told him Iris had fallen out of bed but did not hit her head.

Police then interviewed Iris’s father’s girlfriend, Aleisia Owens, who said she was feeding Iris on the bed that afternoon when her arms and legs cramped up. Owens, who told police she was in nursing training, said Iris immediately fell sideways off the bed to the floor. She said she saw the infant’s chest collapse and started chest compressions, called Iris’s father, and then called 911.

Detectives who visited the house later learned the bed Iris had been on was a 6-inch mattress on a carpeted floor. The stories were not adding up. Owens was adamant that neither she nor Iris’s father let Iris out of their sight, and they were diligent about her care. She also said the bath cabinets of the home were locked.

Disturbing Digital Evidence

A Documented History of Harm

The criminal complaint also details the troubling incident three months earlier in which Iris ingested batteries and water beads after having been in the care of Iris’s father and his girlfriend. On April 1st, Iris was taken to UPMC Children’s by her mother, Emily, after she found more than 20 water beads passed in the child’s stool. Water beads, which come in toys and craft kits, are small, super-absorbent balls. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission warns that swallowing them can have dire consequences for children. Ingested water beads can continue to grow inside the body. This can cause severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration, intestinal blockages, and life-threatening injuries, and surgery may be required to remove the water beads.

While at the hospital, Iris passed more water beads along with a screw and three button-type batteries. After four days of treatment, Iris was released to her mother’s care. Her mother, Emily, who had won primary physical custody of her daughter months earlier, returned to court on April 5th, filing a petition for special relief with Common Pleas Judge David H. Acker. According to the petition, medical personnel from Children’s Hospital contacted Lawrence County Children and Youth Services for suspected child neglect. The petition also stated:

“Father’s inability to appropriately supervise the minor child puts the minor child at risk and subject to harm. Mother believes that it is necessary to suspend father’s periods of partial custody pending an investigation by Children and Youth Services.”

Judge Acker did not limit Iris’s father’s access. Instead, on April 11th, he issued an order requiring Iris’s parents to attend co-parenting classes. He scheduled a hearing on the petition for May 2nd, which was later continued, court records show, after the parties reached an agreement. But according to Emily’s family, there really wasn’t an agreement reached. Emily was told if she did not continue the visitation, she would be held in contempt of court and may lose custody of Iris.

So even though Iris ingested screws, batteries, and water beads while she was in her father’s care, his custody was not taken away. Because of the lack of intervention by the state, Aleisia Owens would still have access to Iris. And behind the scenes, she was plotting and planning ways to end the baby’s life, and in less than a month, she would succeed.

The Long Wait for Justice

The family would have to wait a grueling seven months to see any justice for the heinous murder of baby Iris. As evidenced in the posts from the Iris’s Angels Facebook page, they counted the days through their grief. As police investigated her death, they knew who was behind it and were tormented by the fact that evil was still going about their life as if nothing happened.

This post from November 15th, 2023, reads:

“We continue to work closely with the police while the monsters continue to hide behind numerous cameras surrounding their house. They are feeling a bit more comfortable coming and going at their leisure with no remorse.”

A post from December 13th, 2023, reads:

“As the hours turned into 170 days, the reality of our sweet baby Iris being gone becomes more unbearable. To not hear her sweet giggle, her big laugh, or see that beautiful loving face giving us a giant smile or the side stink eye is unimaginable.”

It goes on to say:

“It’s unimaginable that a person she should have looked up to and considered a hero in her life did not love or protect her and played a part in her death. It’s unfathomable that any woman could carry so much hate and jealousy to play a part in ending an innocent baby’s life. We will forever ask: why didn’t they just walk away? Why didn’t you find it in your hearts to walk away?”

A month later, the family of baby Iris would finally see some justice. On January 10th, 2024, police arrested Iris’s father’s girlfriend, Aleisia Owens, charging her with nine criminal offenses: three counts of criminal homicide, two counts of aggravated assault on a victim less than 6 years old, two counts of aggravated assault on a victim less than 13 years old, and two counts of endangering the welfare of children by a parent or guardian. She was denied bail and is awaiting a preliminary hearing currently set for January 24th, 2024.

At this time, the police state there is no evidence linking Iris’s father or anyone else to her death. It appears from the posts by the family in the Iris’s Angels Facebook page that the family may believe otherwise. We can only hope if the father is involved in any way, justice will be served.

Community Rally and Advocacy

The New Castle community is rallying behind a little girl who lost her life in June. Family says 18-month-old Iris Alfera had a brain bleed and was unresponsive when she was taken to the hospital. They say she was on a court-ordered visitation at the time, and as that investigation continues into the cause of her death, a group known as Iris’s Angels has been fighting for justice.

Today they held a billboard reveal reading “Justice for Baby Girl Iris.” It’s near the Dunkin’ Donuts on Mill Street. Organizers handed out free donuts and child abuse awareness ribbons. Iris’s family has created the Iris’s Angels Foundation to spread awareness of child harm and to protect children through education and changing outdated laws. They periodically have pop-ups in the community accepting donations and offering t-shirts, sweatshirts, along with other merchandise to raise money for the foundation. The community has rallied around Iris’s Angels and supported the family’s fight for justice.

Baby Iris brought so much love and light to her family. She will continue to bring love and light to the world as her tragedy tears at the heartstrings of all of us and inspires us to be her voice. Join the fight and advocate for change.

Final Thoughts

This story was hard to tell. I feel drained, raw, angry, and heartbroken. I grew to know little Iris through her videos and photos. I felt the unimaginable loss and sadness of her family as I read the words in their posts. I can only hope this video encapsulated the beauty of baby Iris and the incredible love her family had for her. I hope it brings awareness to her need for justice and the cracks in our system that must be filled.

I want to thank Iris’s family for sharing her light and her story with us; it can’t be easy as they find themselves under the heavy weight of grief. Iris’s story isn’t over. She will move mountains, and we can help her by sharing her story and advocating for justice in her case.