Father Who Smothered Crying Daughter Because He ‘Couldn’t Handle Any of It’ Will Serve Less Than 12 Years in Prison

A Minnesota man who admitted to killing his 3-month-old daughter by smothering her with a pillow will serve 11 ½ years in prison. 

Anoka County District Court Judge Jenny W. Jasper sentenced Benjamin Alexander Russell on July 31. Russell killed his daughter, Suvanna Russell, in 2009 to “muffle her cries.” 

Under Minnesota law, Russell faced a maximum sentence of 15 years because he had never been convicted of a crime prior. The judge also gifted Russell 389 days of time already served. 

Russell was arrested in July 2022 for killing Suvanna and initially pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. In May 2023, Russell agreed to plea to the murder charge as the initial manslaughter charge was dropped. 

According to reporting from Law and Crime, Russell called 911 from his home on Jan. 19, 2009, at 1:32 p.m. and reported an unresponsive infant. Suvanna was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead after the paramedics performed procedures in an attempt to revive her. 

Russell initially told law enforcement his daughter had positioned her head face-down in a blanket after he put her down for a nap, claiming that’s how she suffocated. 

Russell eventually told the baby’s mother he killed their daughter with a pillow when she was crying and that he “couldn’t handle any of it,” according to court documents. 

The documents also state Russell “left the room to smoke a cigarette” and “returned 12 minutes later.” When he returned he said his daughter had turned blue. 

Before Russell’s sentencing, Suvanna’s mother told the Minneapolis NBC affiliate KARE, “I feel she was cheated,” referring to Suvanna. “To give him 138 months is extremely unfair. It’s unfair to her because she only got three months of her life.”