By: Richard L. Smith
A Linden woman has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the death of her 4-year-old son, who was found unresponsive in a Franklin Township hotel room last year.
According to a statement released by Somerset County officials, 26-year-old Chamyr Harris was taken into custody in Woodbridge, New Jersey, on Monday, February 24, 2025, without incident. 
She has been charged with first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. Her arrest comes after an autopsy determined the child’s death to be a homicide.
Authorities say the case dates back to February 19, 2024, when Franklin Township police responded to a hotel after receiving a 911 call about an unresponsive child.
Upon arrival, officers were met by the boy’s father, Sean Tate, who reported that the child had fallen off a toilet two days earlier, sustaining a head injury, and had previously hit his head on an air conditioning unit.
Tate claimed he iced the injury before putting the child to bed but discovered him unresponsive the next morning. Harris told police she had last seen her son alive approximately two hours before emergency responders arrived.
The child was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:24 p.m. Medical personnel noted that the boy was emaciated and showed signs of multiple injuries across his body.
Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Special Victims Unit, and Crime Scene Investigation Unit, along with Franklin Township police, launched an extensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
A subsequent autopsy, conducted by the New Jersey Regional Medical Examiner’s Office, determined the child's death to be a homicide on February 4, 2025.
Authorities had already made an earlier arrest in the case.
On February 18, 2025, Sean Tate was taken into custody in Woodbridge and charged with first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child. He remains detained at Somerset County Jail, awaiting a court appearance. 
With Harris now also in custody, both parents are facing serious charges in connection with their child’s death. She is being held at Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Somerset County officials thanked the Woodbridge and Linden police departments, as well as agents from the FBI’s Newark Field Office – Branchburg RA, for their assistance in the investigation. Authorities continue to urge anyone with relevant information to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at (908) 231-7100.