A Pennsylvania mother was convicted of murder after she strangled her son to death so he wouldn’t have to grow up with financial struggles.
Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead was charged with the murder of 11-year-old Matthew Whitehead after his body was found in their Horsham home in April 2023, according to a statement from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, NBC Philadelphia and 6 ABC reported Thursday that a judge found DiRienzo-Whitehead guilty of first-degree murder, rejecting an insanity defence that her attorneys had argued for.
On Friday, Dirienzo-Whitehead was sentenced to life in prison, 6 ABC reported.
Following her arrest, DiRienzo-Whitehead told police that the family had been struggling financially. Dirienze-Whitehead said she did not want her son to grow up with these struggles, and admitted to strangling him with a belt as he slept, the outlets reported, citing authorities.
Matthew’s father called 911 after he noticed the door to the primary bedroom was locked and the family’s Toyota Highlander was missing. Police found Matthew’s body in the bedroom, where he’d fallen asleep with his mother, the district attorney’s office said.
The boy had ligature marks on the front and rear of his neck, his face was swollen and with petechiae to his eyes, authorities said.
Police found the missing SUV in Cape May, N.J., where DiRienzo-Whitehead had driven it into the ocean. She was found walking around six miles north of the abandoned vehicle. Authorities said they found a belt on the floor of the driver’s side of the SUV.
DiRienzo-Whitehead’s attorney Eugene Tinari expressed disappointment after the verdict, the Inquirer reported.
“I believe it was strictly as a result of her being in psychosis and mental illness based on the reasons I said. The love of her child, her character,” Tinari said, according to the outlet.
Before his death, Matthew was a sixth-grader at Germantown Academy.
“Matthew was an extraordinary child with a smile as bright as the sun,” the school said in a statement reported by the Inquirer. “We loved him, and we will forever mourn his loss.”
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. (People)