GUILTY PA - Matthew Whitehead, 11, found deceased in mom’s bedroom, her SUV found in NJ ocean, Horsham Twp, 11 Apr 2023 *arrest*

[modesty blaise]

Poor little guy
At 11 he certainly knew what was going on and put up a struggle.

 

[Gemmie]

Poor little guy
At 11 he certainly knew what was going on and put up a struggle.

Highly likely although I didn't see any scratch marks on her face, neck or chest in her mugshot.

Horsham woman accused of killing son waives extradition from N.J., preliminary hearing set

A Horsham Township woman accused of using a belt to fatally strangle her 11-year-old son as he slept in their home waived her extradition from New Jersey and is in the Montgomery County Correctiona…

www.mainlinemedianews.com

 

[MAHBOOBOO]

I think we may be jumping the gun a little when we say that she "tried to drive her car into the water".

When I look at that pic, I see another possibility: She could have been driving down the beach, got stuck in the sand, and then the tide came in. And of course I could be wrong.

Just wanted to say that because I feel like her reason for driving down there could be more from her selfish desire to go to her happy place (Cape May/the beach) as opposed to a desire to kill herself. Mentally that's where I envision her at that moment.

 

[sunshineray]

Highly likely although I didn't see any scratch marks on her face, neck or chest in her mugshot.

Horsham woman accused of killing son waives extradition from N.J., preliminary hearing set

A Horsham Township woman accused of using a belt to fatally strangle her 11-year-old son as he slept in their home waived her extradition from New Jersey and is in the Montgomery County Correctiona…

www.mainlinemedianews.com

Face of evil.

God Bless you Matt <3
RIP sweet boy <3

 

[ifindedout]

Do you know when she lost or failed to renew her license?

Can't find a way to answer that, however her Zillow listing gives her most recent sales.
Ruth DiRienzo Whitehead - Real Estate Agent in Horsham, PA - Reviews | Zillow
I know, that is a strange URL, but I put it in another window and it worked. Just do what it says to prove you're a human, and you should be fine. Or else just Google ruth dirienzo whitehead license and look for the link above, and you can get right in without all that jazz.
Her last sale was in Ambler, on 12/30/2022, at $315,000. The previous two sales last year were: Lansdale, $600K, 9/19, and Souderton, $390K, 5/17. Prior to that, she hadn't had a sale in over a year.
My guess is that the county and/or state board of realtors abeyed, then pulled, her license very quickly after it happened. I doubt she failed to renew, MOO.

 

[wary]

Highly likely although I didn't see any scratch marks on her face, neck or chest in her mugshot.

View attachment 415278

Horsham woman accused of killing son waives extradition from N.J., preliminary hearing set

A Horsham Township woman accused of using a belt to fatally strangle her 11-year-old son as he slept in their home waived her extradition from New Jersey and is in the Montgomery County Correctiona…

www.mainlinemedianews.com

What if she drugged him?

Wild speculation only

 

[hafom8840]

Yet, she tells the police: "I know what I did." She seems to believe she's sane. At the same time, I could see a scenario in which one of the major mental illnesses could still be involved. If she really was prone to psychotic breaks, this ought not to be the first one. This may include a failed suicide attempt as well, so for the time being that's kind of where I have it in my own mind (murder/attempted suicide).

Killing oneself after such a heinous act is not exactly irrational. I think she may have generally decompensated, as has happened to many people (temporary disintegration of the rational ego functions that hold our daily lives together, mentally). OTOH, she could have a brain tumor for all I know.

IMO.

This woman's "insanity" is nothing more than a sob story led to coax others into having sympathy for her.

 

[bombardier]

This woman's "insanity" is nothing more than a sob story led to coax others into having sympathy for her.

I would believe that if there was another motive that could explain her actions more than a mental break. waiting and seeing if such a motive comes out...

 

[hafom8840]

I would believe that if there was another motive that could explain her actions more than a mental break. waiting and seeing if such a motive comes out...

Either way I couldn't care less and have not a nanogram of sympathy like some people seem to

 

[Really?]

Well, the beach house is now up for sale….hhhhmmmm.

 

[vls12345]

<snipped for focus on this part>

Looking at Cape May County Property site I see that they also owned a house in Wildwood Crest (Mom was arrested in Wildwood Crest) - wonder if Dad was staying at that house? Just my speculation, maybe they couldn't afford to keep both homes and the son was upset they had to sell the "beach" house/or vice versa?

View attachment 414392

Public Records Electronic Search System

Well, the beach house is now up for sale….hhhhmmmm.

Looks like it's listed for $799k:

https://www.movoto.com/wildwood-crest-nj/5704-seaview-ave-wildwood-crest-nj-08260-455_230996/

5704 Seaview Ave, Wildwood, NJ 08260 | Zillow

5704 Seaview Ave, Wildwood NJ, is a Single Family home that contains 1306 sq ft and was built in 1938.It contains 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.This home last sold for $807,000 in May 2023. The Zestimate for this Single Family is $915,900, which has increased by $223 in the last 30 days.The Rent...

www.zillow.com

 

[blooboyy77]

Methinks selling the beach house is all DW can do at this point because of finances. Personally I'd rather have sold the newly-stigmatized family home and lived at the beach house, but there's a more practical reason to stay at the family home: a family member lives next door. If I understand the rules correctly I can't state who it is by name.

I inadvertently discovered this because I was considering sending DW a sympathy card, only as a private citizen and with NO mention of our beloved sleuthing community. But the awareness of the family tragedy making international headlines undoubtedly adds to their grief, so while it was a nice thought, it would be disrespecting their privacy. After all, it made news in the British tabloids. Yeesh!

$799? I would like to order a half dozen beach houses to go, sil vous plais! ; )

 

[blooboyy77]

Check that: $799,000?...

$799 would barely buy Bloobear a new Stetson lol... : )

 

[ChatteringBirds]

What a tragic horrific case.

As far as her son sleeping in her bed, I don't see anything wrong with that. Our 10-year-old has done that when anxious and unable to sleep. He then falls asleep quickly. It's probably not all that rare.

As far as the victim possibly whining all day, I also think that's pretty normal. Preteen boys are having a lot of hormonal changes. They can be very emotional, moody.

My opinion so far is that she was experiencing low self-worth, felt like a failure inside (although she wasn't, no matter their finances). Maybe she felt she was failing as a mother or wife. Maybe she also has mental illness such as severe depression.
But instead of seeking help from her doctor or talking it out with a friend or relative and trying to get some perspective, she chose to lash out violently and destroy her beautiful son and husband and life. She was hurting and other people needed to hurt, too.

So far nothing has come out about other possible causes, though we can't rule out medical conditions, addiction, or prescription medication playing a role. I always wonder why people go through with murder. Yet these aren't excuses.

I hope her son somehow did not realize what was happening.

She may have been legally insane when she murdered him.
This is a case I might consider this.

Locking the bedroom door behind her, taking the belt with her, driving away purposefully, I think shows she knew what she did and that it was wrong. She even said her motive was financial...
All IMO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 50, of the 500 block of Privet Road, can meet with a psychiatrist while she’s being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Lower Providence for a “mental health evaluation,” according to an order signed by Judge Wendy G. Rothstein.

The judge ordered jail officials to make the appropriate accommodations for Dr. Pogos H. Voskanian, a clinical and forensic psychiatrist, to conduct and complete the evaluation.

The court order did not spell out the specific nature of the mental health evaluation or whether it included a determination of competency.

Mental health evaluation ordered for Horsham woman accused of fatally strangling son

The court order did not spell out the specific nature of the mental health evaluation or whether it included a determination of competency.

www.delcotimes.com

 

[Katrinepa]

Matthew went to Germantown Academy. He was in sixth grade. Tuition for a sixth grader is $37,525. Ugh.
RIP Matthew. You deserved so much better.

Tuition and Fees - Germantown Academy

My daughter graduated from Germantown Academy, Fort Washington, PA. I live in Horsham, and this case is very strange. Poor little guy.

 

[Katrinepa]

Well, that tuition may be one reason for the financial difficulties. Moo

They own two houses, one in Wildwood Crest.. She is a Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams. I doubt her story very much. Matthew was attending Germantown Academy since Kindergarten, and If there were financial issues, the school would try to help, but all she had to do was sell her Beach House, IF that were the problem/excuse. I seriously doubt finances had anything to do with this horrific murder. Very odd, as her Facebook page shows what looks like fun times together.

 

[Katrinepa]

<snipped for focus on this part>

Looking at Cape May County Property site I see that they also owned a house in Wildwood Crest (Mom was arrested in Wildwood Crest) - wonder if Dad was staying at that house? Just my speculation, maybe they couldn't afford to keep both homes and the son was upset they had to sell the "beach" house/or vice versa?

View attachment 414392

Public Records Electronic Search System

Dad was home, and slept in another room, apparently not unusual. He woke, went to the bedroom, which was locked. Not sure if he got in to the bedroom and found his dead son, or if he called the police first, which would mean he suspected something wrong. Just horrific! I feel there is much more to this whole incident than has been reported thus far. MOO

 

[Katrinepa]

This is not really in response to your post because I think your speculation is as valid as any other reasons for a child to be upset over finances. But that is if we believe a mother who murdered her child.

My opinion is this is all excuses. No 11-year-old kid cries all day because of financial concerns. He is described as sweet and wonderful and I think most 11-year-olds would be supportive: “It’s okay, mom, I’ll be okay in public school. And we can still go visit the beach without our beach house.” This is all about her and how she feels about pulling her kid from expensive private school and selling her precious beach house.

She is is making excuses to justify her narcissistic, homicidal behavior. She refuses to admit that she killed her child over her own stress over finances. Or to hurt his father. Or whatever she decided was reason enough to murder her innocent child. It had nothing to do with the boy being concerned about their finances. Eleven-year-olds are more likely to reassure and support their parents. And even if he whined and cried all day, that’s obviously an odd and poor excuse for murder. But I don’t believe he did. I think it was a normal day for the boy, while his mother was all the while planning this tragic act.
Moo

Spot on in my view, and he view of many locals as well. Her issues, Not her child's.

 

[Katrinepa]

Monday was “Easter Monday” and my kids did have the day off school. Jmo

GA had school the day after Easter. He would have been in school that day. Their calendar is much like a college calendar as far as vacations/days off.