A Lino Lakes, Minnesota mother faces murder charges after allegedly drowning her child in a bathtub then throwing the child’s body into a dumpster at a hotel, according to court records.

Esperanza Rae Harding, 20, has been charged with second-degree murder and murder in Hennepin County for the death of her child, though authorities have not located the body nor indicated how old the child was.

Court records allege that on March 6, 2024, officers with the Minneapolis Police Department responded to reports of a missing child call at the Children’s Hospital.

When officers arrived, they spoke with Harding, who claimed her child died of natural causes in the hospital on March 1.

MINNESOTA WOMAN SURVIVES AFTER 25 MINUTES WITHOUT PULSE, WARNS OTHERS ABOUT SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST

Hospital officials told police there was no record of the child being admitted or dying at the hospital, and the Medical Examiner’s Office did not have record of the victim, court documents allege.

Police said Harding eventually admitted that her child died at a hotel in Bloomington on Feb. 28, 2024, not at the hospital.

She allegedly said her child died in the bathtub, and afterward, she wrapped the body up and threw it in a dumpster.

SMALL-TOWN MINNESOTA HOTEL SHOOTER DIDN'T KNOW EITHER OF HIS VICTIMS, POLICE SAY

Bloomington police officers also interviewed Harding after being brought into the case because of the location of the crime.

During the interview, police claim, Harding told investigators she was dating 18-year-old Edwin Trudeau, who did not like the child, telling her to put the child up for adoption.

Harding told officers Trudeau wanted her to put the child up for adoption to prove he was her top priority, not the child, court documents allege.

MINNESOTA SHOOTER WHO KILLED 2 POLICE OFFICERS AND A PARAMEDIC ID’D, HAD LOST RIGHT TO OWN GUNS

On Feb. 28, Harding was alone in a hotel room in Bloomington and taking a bath when her child, who was in the other room, started crying.

Harding told police she became upset because she was unable to enjoy the bath. So, she went into the other room, picked up the child and drowned the child in the bathtub.

She then took a picture of the child floating face down in the tub, police said, which has since been recovered from her phone.

Harding allegedly texted with Trudeau during the incident, and police said the texts have since been recovered.

During the texts, Harding allegedly told Trudeau she was about to do something bad, adding her child would not be there much longer.

MINNESOTA SHOOTING: 2 POLICE OFFICERS, PARAMEDIC KILLED RESPONDING TO BURNSVILLE DOMESTIC CALL IDENTIFIED

A little bit later, she allegedly told Trudeau her child was going to die, then two minutes later, she said her child was dead.

Police said Harding sent additional texts in which she referred to herself as "a monster" for what she did, while also asking Trudeau how to get away with the crime.

Trudeau went to the hotel room once the child was dead, Harding told investigators, and after failing to resuscitate the child with CPR, the two had sex in the other room while the child’s motionless body was on the floor of the bathroom.

Afterward, she allegedly told investigators, Harding wrapped the child up, placed the body in a backpack and threw the child into a dumpster at the hotel.

The body has yet to be recovered.

Harding also allegedly told investigators Trudeau kept telling her to keep her mouth shut and that they had to get out of the situation.

"If you go down, I go down, no matter what," Trudeau allegedly told Harding. "It is always going to be us, Bonnie and Clyde."

Trudeau was charged with murder and aiding an offender after the fact.

Harding and Trudeau have both been booked into the Hennepin County Jail. Harding is being held on $1,500,000 bond, while Trudeau is being held on $500,000 bond.

Pope Francis is being criticized by Ukrainian officials for comments made during an interview last month that aired over the weekend, calling for Ukraine to have "the courage of the white flag" and negotiate an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine.

During an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, which was partially released on Saturday, the pontiff argued that Ukraine should be open to peace talks with Russia, as Ukraine faces possible defeat.

"I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates," Francis said in response to a question on whether Ukraine should agree to peace talks or if negotiations would legitimize Russia’s aggression toward the country.

Foreign ministers of both Ukraine and Poland condemned Francis’ remarks on social media on Sunday.

POPE FRANCIS APPEARS UNABLE TO CLUB STEPS TO POPEMOBILE FOLLOWING WEEKLY GENERAL AUDIENCE

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in his post that the strongest one is the one who stands on the side of good while in the fight between good and evil, instead of attempting to put both sides on the same footing with negotiations.

"When it comes to the white flag, we know this Vatican's strategy from the first half of the twentieth century. I urge you to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past and to support Ukraine and its people in their just struggle for their lives," Kuleba said. "Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags."

POPE FRANCIS HOSPITALIZED BRIEFLY AFTER DEALING WITH FLU SYMPTOMS 

The foreign minister thanked the pope for constant prayers for peace, adding that he hopes the pontiff will make an "apostolic visit" to Ukraine in support of its people, both Christian and non-Christian.

Poland’s foreign minister, Radek Sikorski, also weighed in on Francis’ comments.

"How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine," Sikorski said. "Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations."

The Associated Press reported that Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of Ukraine’s Greek Catholic Church, said Sunday that Ukrainians may be exhausted, surrender is not on their minds as they stand against Russia.

PRIESTS APOLOGIZE FOR PRAYING POPE FRANCIS WOULD ‘GO TO HEAVEN’ AS SOON AS POSSIBLE 

"Believe me, it never crosses anyone’s mind to surrender," Shevchuk said while speaking with Ukrainians in New York City.

"Even where there is fighting today: listen to our people in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy," he added, mentioning regions under Russian drone attacks and heavy artillery.

Matteo Bruni, a spokesperson at the Vatican, said Saturday that the pope supported "a stop to hostilities [and] a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations," instead of an all-out surrender by Ukraine, The AP reported.

Bruni also said the journalist who interviewed Francis used the term "white flag" in the question, which prompted the now controversial remarks.

BRITAIN SAYS IT WILL PROVIDE 10,000 DRONES TO UKRAINE IN ITS FIGHT AGAINST RUSSIA

Francis has attempted to maintain diplomatic neutrality, as is tradition at the Vatican, throughout the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Still, the pontiff’s stance has been met with what could be interpreted as sympathy with Russia’s rationale for invading Ukraine, including when Francis noted that NATO was "barking at Russia’s door" with its eastward expansion.

Francis said during the interview with RSI that "negotiations are never a surrender."

"When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate," the pope said.

On Sunday, as Francis conducted the Angelus prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, he said he was praying for peace in the "tormented Ukraine and in the Holy Land."

"Let the hostilities which cause immense suffering among the civilian population cease as soon as possible," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.