Minnesota Mother Murders Her Infant to Please Her Boyfriend | Esperanza Rae Harding

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She showed up at the hospital saying her baby had died days ago. Um, but no one can find a record of him anywhere. It didn’t take long before the truth came out, and it was worse than anyone expected. Welcome, LaMs. Welcome to love and Murder, Heartbreak to Homicide, your midweek mini edition. If you’re new here. Hi, my name is Ky and I’ll be your host in this podcast. I tell you cases of love that turn to murder, and I do all of these retellings with keeping the victim in mind. If you haven’t done so already, go ahead and hit that subscribe button on whatever platform you’re on. But if you didn’t know, you can also subscribe on our patreon for free. Patreon.com/ loveandmurder where you do get some benefits of being a free subscriber. But the best way to get even more and support the victim stories being told is by choosing one of our bonus tiers. Uh, like I said, you get to help support the victim stories being told. You get bonus episodes, you get ad free content. You don’t even get this intro that I’m giving right now. You get case files and so much more. Patreon.com/ loveandmurder and now that we got the housekeeping out of the way, let’s get into your midweek mini.

Esperanza Ray Harding claimed her son Mateo died from natural causes

On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, Minneapolis police were dispatched to Children’s Hospital regarding a, uh, missing child call at the hospital. They spoke with 20 year old Esperanza Rae Harding, who claimed that her son, 8 month old Mateo Harding, had died at the hospital on March 1st from natural causes. However, the hospital had absolutely no record of the child being admitted there and the medical examiner’s office also had no record of the victim. So, uh, due to the suspicious nature of her claims, police detained Esperanza and interviewed her. She reportedly gave inconsistent information before eventually admitting what she’d done. She said that on the night of February 28, 2024, inside a Bloomington, Minnesota hotel room, she’d been taking a bath and texting her 19 year old boyfriend, Edwin Cosmo Trudeau. She said that Edwin did not like the baby and wanted her to give Mateo up for adoption. So to which you immediately gave him the finger, right? And said, get out of my life and blocked him on everything. Now, uh, even though Edwin is saying he didn’t like the baby, Mateo’s father, Jesus Cazares, described Mateo as someone who was really happy and quote, always laughing. Esperanza went on to say that Edwin said that he wanted her to prove that he was her top priority. Once again, that’s where the finger comes in handy, because my 8 month old is actually my top priority. You’re a grown ass man. So Esperanza told investigators she was taking a bath that night. And while she was in a tub, Mateo began crying in the other room. She admitted that she was upset that she could not enjoy her bath. You’re a mother. Get the frick over it. In her text with Edwin, which police later recovered, she said, quote, he’s doing too much right now. I can’t effing sleep. I’m trying, though. I’m about to do something bad. Please answer me. Okay, this is what the text said. He going to no be here much longer. Which I’m guessing he’s not going to be here much longer is what she meant. That was the text. Edwin, instead of saying, uh, what do you mean that he’s not going to be here much longer? I’m going to do something bad. Uh, let me do a welfare check. No, no, no. Instead of saying any of that, he responded with, quote, okay, that’s okay. Esperanza said that she then put Mateo into the bathtub that was full and drowned him. She told police she picked the infant up after he was, quote, done moving. Done tw. Are you. I. These are the type of people that I. Oh, my God. I just. I can’t. Done moving. Done twitching. I’m just so flabbergasted that I. I can’t even think of words like. What I was going to say was that these are the types of people that I just want to punch in their throat. Are you kidding me? I just. I can’t get over the words that she said. Apparently, this sick female dog. Oh, uh, my God. Then took a picture, which was later recovered from her cell phone. Sean Mateo submerged face down in the full tub. Then what the actual frick. Then this son of a craptastic bootlicker text Edwin calling herself a monster and asking him how to get away with it. The best way to get away with it is to never have done it in the first place. And yes, you’re a monster. I know you’re telling Edwin this because you want him to feel sorry for you. You’re lucky it wasn’t me. On the other side of the phone began I. I. She then text him that the baby was dead. Dead. And that she was sorry. And he replied, quote, don’t be, Edwin. Then came over, saw the dead baby still on the bathroom floor. This bitch still had the baby on the Bathroom floor. And also, you thought that was bad lambs. You’re not going to believe this that I’m about to tell you. Like, you’re seriously not going to believe what these pieces of baboon balls did next. They went into the next room and had sex. He never called for help. She just murdered her baby. And they had sex while her baby’s dead body was still on the bathroom floor. Did y’all hear what I said? I literally. I literally just. I have no words. She’s the type of person that you just need to put in a wrestling ring and say, let the match begin. But plot twist. Tonight is a real match. No fake stuff, no bars. Held with six new mothers. And this baby killer fight. How do you think that’s going to go down? You just had a baby, and this woman did this to her baby. You. You know, if you’ve had a kid, you know how you felt when you just had a baby and you see somebody hurt a baby? Like, I’m not dismissing Edwin here, but I’m just talking about Esperanza right now because that’s her son, and she murdered him. And then she did all of this. Like, are you kidding me? Anyways, after they had sex and Edwin left, she then stuffed the baby’s body into a backpack and threw it into a dumpster. Is that wrestling match sounding better and better now? Then she told police that she knew she was going to do time because she killed her own kid. So police picked up Edwin because, uh. What the actual f. He admitted that he went to the hotel and found the baby dead in the bathroom. He said Esperanza told him that she tried to do CPR on the baby, but was unsuccessful. So then he decided the best and most illogical thing to do was have sex with Esperanza before leaving. Then before he left, he told her to make it look like she was throwing the trash away.

Both Esperanza and Edwin were arrested in connection with Mateo’s death

When disposing of the body, he allegedly told her, quote, keep your mouth shut. End quote. If you go down, I go down. No matter what, it’s always going to be us. Uh, Bonnie and Clyde. Didn’t Bonnie and Clyde both die? I never watched a movie, but I’m pretty sure they both died. Then six days later, that’s when Esperanza showed up at a children’s hospital trying to pretend like, you know, oh, I was here and I admitt my baby, or whatever, Whatever. And then Esperanza said again that Edwin was the one who pressured her to prove that, you know, he was more important than her son. Anyway, both Esperanza and Edwin were arrested. Esperanza was charged with one count of, uh, second degree murder. She was held in Hennepin county jail on a $1.5 million bond. Edwin was charged with one count of aiding an offender. Accomplice after the fact. That’s what it said Aiden and offender dash accomplish. So offender accomplish, I guess after the fact. Neither Esperanza nor Edwin went to a full trial. Instead, both entered guilty pleas to their respective charges as part of plea agreements. On December 20, 2024, Esperanza, who was 21 at the time of her sentencing, entered a guilty plea to one count of, uh, second degree intentional murder. On Thursday, March 6, 2025, a Hennepin county judge sentenced her to 384 months, which is 32 years in prison. The judge imposed a sentence that was actually higher than what was recommended by the state sentencing guidelines. The reason that the judge gave for this was due, uh, to the vulnerability of, of the victim. Hennepin county attorney Mary Moriarty said, quote, my thoughts are with Mateo’s family today. This was a heartbreaking case. And while Ms. Harding is being held accountable, it does not return Mateo to his family or offer him the life that he should have had the chance to live. Esperanza received 366 days of credit for time served. On February 24, 2025, Edwin, who was 19 at the time, pled guilty to to aid in an offender slash accomplice after the fact. As part of his plea deal. His sentence is capped at seven years and two months. He was scheduled to be sentenced on May 5th. And when I went ahead and checked because I got this together before May 5th, so I had to check on it. And it looks like on, uh, May 6th he was sentenced. So Edwin, who as of his Sentencing is now 20 years old, he received a 74 month sentence with credit for 145 days already served. And as of reports in uh, March of 2024 and all the way to March of 2025, authorities have yet to find poor baby Mateo’s body. Jesus told local media, quote, he was really happy. He enjoyed life. He, he was always laughing, just joking. Right now I have more anger than sadness. I don’t want anything else other than to just find my son and give him the peace he needs. If you are experiencing thoughts of harming a child or overwhelmed by parenting, there is definitely help. Call the child Help National Child abuse hotline at 1-800-4 a child. That’s 1-800-422-44453 or you could visit childhelp.org it is free, confidential and available 24. 7 in 170 languages.

This woman drowned her son and she got 32 years in prison

So, lambs, what did you think about that episode? This woman drowned her son and she got 32 years in prison. She even took a picture of his dead body. She even walked past his dead body to go have sex in the other room. And. And she got 32 years in prison. And the dude who, I don’t know, you can’t say, really egged her on because she could have just said, what are you talking about, you sick f. Just don’t ever talk to me again. But he did egg her on. So, I mean, and then he came over to her house, saw the baby’s body there, and proceeded to just go to the next room and have sex. And for that, he ended up getting six years in jail. Six and change. 74 months. Yeah. And that’s what he got like. Can you believe this, uh, case? I totally want to hear from you. Leave your thoughts in the comments below. And if you want to hear something, uh, shocking about somebody who reached out to me, head on over to the Patreon, because at the Patreon you do get some behind the scenes that you wouldn’t get here in the public podcast. So if you want to hear some of that behind the scenes and who messaged me and what my answer is going to be and why, then head over to patreon.com forward/loveandmurder and become a supporter at $5 or above. Not only do you get to hear all my, you know, business, but you also get to support the victim’s cases being heard. You also get ad free episodes, commercial free episodes, case files. So if there’s video pictures of the evidence or anything like that, you do get that by being a lamb. Patreon. Patreon.com forward/loveandmurder. Thank you for listening all the way to the end. Thank you in advance for your comments and thank you for being a supporter of, uh, love and murder. And I will see you in the next episode. Bye.