Off The Record

“My Best Friend Killed My Son While Babysitting,” I Did Not Hesitate When She Texted Me To Help Her Avoid Going To Jail

Published on February 2, 2025

A distraught mother whose son was killed by his closest friend claimed that the now-convicted criminal contacted her with a ridiculous request right before she was arrested.

On September 15, 2022, Mississippi resident Kristian Harris, age 2, passed very tragically as a result of the severe torment he endured at the hands of Makallie Durham, age 25.

Last month, Makallie of Iuka entered a guilty plea to many charges of child abuse and capital murder. Because of her horrible deeds, she will now be imprisoned for the rest of her life.

According to Justin Hurd, 23, Kristian’s mother, who spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com this week, Makallie frantically texted her that she was being taken to jail by police after Alcorn County deputy sheriffs arrived on the scene on September 13, 2022.

After her ex-friend was arrested for abusing her kid and her then-11-month-old daughter, Justin talked on how shocked she was to hear her ask for assistance.

And I said, “Your a** should go [to jail]! Because why my babies got bruises all over them? You better hope they take you before I get there” Justin recalled telling Durham.

That terrible day, Makllie’s boyfriend contacted 911 to report that Kristian was unconscious, and authorities were summoned to his house.

According to Justin, Makallie had been caring for Kristian and his younger sister K’Helani for days at that point.

She claimed that once the babysitter called Makallie’s boyfriend, a truck driver who wasn’t home at the time, he called the police to report what had transpired.

Soon after, Justin and her mother, 48-year-old Christina Hurd, learned that Kristian was being taken to the hospital.

Justin claimed that she was “worried” and “frantic” when she was informed that her child was unconscious and that hospital officials were making it difficult for her to reach her.

Justin explained that her mother, Kristian’s grandmother, was not even permitted to meet her son. “They were trying to keep me calm, calm enough to get to my kid, and then they would tell me the full details,” Justin said.

Justin claimed that as soon as she was able to enter the hospital room, she realized something was off.

“So, when I got to my son [at the hospital], it was like 12:02 when I walked into that room. And I just started praying because I knew my baby was dead,” she said, holding back tears.

Justin quickly discovered that her daughter was missing while her son was struggling for his life.

Officers responded to her question about her daughter’s whereabouts without knowing that Makallie was also caring for another youngster at the time.

“And I’m like yeah – the whole time, my baby was in the room sleeping. Bruises all over her face, all over her abdomen and chest,” she recalled.

Then Christina went to pick up K’Helani, whom she immediately recognized as being terribly abused.

And I was like, “mama, let me see” and she was like, “You really don’t need to see. You need to get here”, Justin said.

“And when I seen it, I was like what the f***”.

Justin said the timeline still does not “add up,” even though police and prosecutors informed her that her children were assaulted for the first time on the ninth.

An indictment examined by the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal claimed that Makallie struck Kristian “in the face or head” three times between September 9, 12, and 13, 2022.

Additionally, she was charged with hitting K’Helani “in the face or head” three consecutive days, from September 11 to 13.

“She [Makallie] had them for a full week. Seven days. Day for day,” she explained, adding that the babysitter’s boyfriend handed over home surveillance footage to police, which aided in determining when the abuse began.

Justin claimed that during that week, she learned that Makallie and her kids visited the homes of the babysitter’s mother and father in addition to spending time at her boyfriend’s house.

Justin claimed that as a result, she is unaware of the actual events that took place outside Makallie’s partner’s house.

She asserted that Makallie regularly picked up her children and insisted on keeping them longer, indicating that spending time with them was not unusual.

“My kids called her TiTi. That was her aunt from another mother, literally,” Justin said.

The mother claimed that none of her kids had ever returned home with any bruises or marks, and when Makallie arrived to take them up, they both voluntarily accompanied her.

“Like, you couldn’t pay me at the time to believe she was just capable of thinking or doing anything of that nature,” Justin added.

Makallie even declined Justin’s offer to drop her kids down at their grandmother’s house just up the street that week.

And she was like, “You know I love your kids. I would never let anything happen to your kids”, Justin recalled.

“And from that moment forward, I believe that’s when it started. When she made that statement.”

Justin stated that justice would never be fully served because Makallie will never be able to see her son again, despite the fact that she has been found guilty of killing her child and assaulting her daughter.

“Yeah, I mean, I lost my kid. That doesn’t go by lightly. I wanted them to kill her [Makallie],” Justin said, explaining that her family wanted her disgraced friend to get the death penalty, but it would have taken too long.

“Yeah, it would’ve taken 20 years, they said. Literally. If we had tried her for the death penalty,” Christina added.

Justin stated that she would not speak to Makallie directly if she ever had the opportunity.

“Yes, I’ve matured in so many ways, but when it comes to that aspect, I wouldn’t be mature enough to just sit there,” she said. ‘I’d probably try to kill her.

“I mean, you killed my baby. You tried to kill my other one. You took a lot from me.”

Justin claimed that trolls on the internet aggressively assaulted her after learning of her son’s death and accused her of being responsible for his demise.

“I mean, apparently I paid that girl to hurt my kids,” Justin said.

“Y’all are acting like the girl had already murdered somebody before I gave her my kids,” Justin added.

Justin has now welcomed two more children into her life: a six-month-old son and a one-year-old daughter, just over two years after losing her son, who was referred to as a “phenomenal two-year-old.”

Days after burying Kristian, she revealed to DailyMail.com that she was expecting her third child.

K’Helani, Justin’s now three-year-old daughter, recalls her late brother ‘to a certain extent.’

“He was just such a loving, loving kid towards her. He was the best big brother,” she said of Kristian.