A Pennsylvania mother is now in police custody after strangling her 11-year-old son to death in their Horsham Township home. According to CBS News, Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead strangled Matthew Whitehead with a belt because she didn’t want him growing up with the family’s financial struggles.
On Tuesday morning, at around 7 A.M., the victim’s father noticed that the main bedroom was locked, but his wife’s SUV was missing. He reportedly had slept in another room the night before. When he forced his way into the bedroom, he discovered his son lifeless on the bed.
Prosecutors say that after the attack, DiRienzo-Whitehead drove 120 miles to Cape May, New Jersey, where she drove her SUV into the ocean. When the vehicle was recovered, the belt used to take Matthew Whitehead’s life was found on the floor of the vehicle. The suspect was located shortly after by the Cape May Police Department.
DiRienzo-Whitehead has been arrested and charged with first and third-degree murder charges, as well as possession of an instrument of crime. The 50-year-old is currently being held in Cape May, and is expected to be extradited back to Montgomery County to be arraigned on the charges.
