The Murder Case Against Waco Baby Whisperer Is Complicated

For years, Marian Fraser was the "baby whisperer" of Waco, the trusted day-care provider to the city's professionals and the secret weapon for parents desperate to get off a waiting list. Her name was synonymous with peace of mind—until 4-month-old Clara Felton died in her care in 2013. Fraser was convicted—twice—of felony murder after hair tests indicated a host of children in her care, including Clara, had been exposed to diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl. But the story is far more complicated than it seems, reports Texas Monthly in a deep dive look at the case.

Both trials were marred by doubts: No one saw Fraser dose any child, and there's no direct evidence she gave Clara the drug. Parents, initially loyal, turned on Fraser after hair tests from a single Houston lab suggested widespread drug exposure—but those tests were later criticized for reliability issues. At the same time, Fraser's reputation as a confidant to parents, her acts of kindness, and her lifelong passion for caring for children painted a complicated, even contradictory, picture, with some doubting she'd dose children with allergy meds in order to get them to nap while others wondered if she did just that to uphold her reputation.

She was convicted in 2015, had the conviction overturned in 2017, but the state's highest court reversed that ruling and she was convicted again at a second trial in 2023 that was similarly troubled. The 2023 trial centered on the same circumstantial evidence, with the case hinging on whether Fraser's alleged actions constituted "an act clearly dangerous to human life," as required for a felony murder conviction. Read the full story for all the twists and turns, including what happened when the Texas Monthly reporter learned about something that never came up at either trial: a diaper rash recipe Fraser used—that includes liquid Benadryl.