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

[imstilla.grandma]

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- A mother is in custody following the death of her 11-year-old son in Horsham Township on Tuesday morning. Detectives say the child was found dead inside the master bedroom, where he allegedly spent the night with his mother.

The father told police that when he woke up Tuesday at 7 a.m., he noticed the master bedroom door was locked and his wife's black Toyota Highlander was missing from the garage.

Neighbor Paul Howieson says he never imagined waking up to heartbreak just next door.

"No, not at all. They're quiet, kept to themselves, seemed to be a good family. Kid seemed pretty smart. It's just a shame," Howieson said.

Neighbors say the family was private.

"They're quiet, kept to themselves, seemed to be a good family. Kid seemed pretty smart. It's just a shame," Howieson said.

"If we happened to see anybody leaving or coming. And we really didn't see anything," Howieson said.

Police in New Jersey found the wife's SUV partially submerged in the ocean just off Beach Avenue in Cape May, more than 120 miles away.

Cell phone video showed what police say is the mother's car being pulled from the ocean.

Investigators say it was spotted there around 3:30 a.m.

She has since been taken into custody by Wildwood Crest Police.

Montgomery County Detectives and Horsham Police launched a joint investigation into the boy's death.

The cause of death and charges are unknown at this time.

Mother in custody after 11-year-old boy found dead in Horsham Township home

The boy was found by his father Tuesday morning inside a locked master bedroom while his wife's black Toyota Highlander was missing from the garage.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[realanastasia]

Whoa. So was she in the SUV when police located it, and that is how she was apprehended? Or did she abandon the vehicle in the ocean and try to flee? Was the child killed in the bedroom where his body was found, or was he perhaps killed elsewhere and transported in the vehicle back home where he was placed in the primary bedroom? I just wonder if driving into the ocean was a failed suicide attempt or an effort to destroy evidence of some kind.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Whoa. So was she in the SUV when police located it, and that is how she was apprehended? Or did she abandon the vehicle in the ocean and try to flee? Was the child killed in the bedroom where his body was found, or was he perhaps killed elsewhere and transported in the vehicle back home where he was placed in the primary bedroom? I just wonder if driving into the ocean was a failed suicide attempt or an effort to destroy evidence of some kind.

I’m trying to figure it out…

https://twitter.com/x/status/1645925205636677638

A driver yet to be identified got stuck in the sand at Cape May Cove Beach this morning. Public works and fire officials used heave equipment to remove the vehicle. Investigation is underway. pic.twitter.com/qDoYxuqtiU

— John Cooke (@CookeCapeMay) April 11, 2023

Matthew Whitehead was found by his father in the master bedroom of a home on the 500 block of Privet Road in Horsham Township shortly after 7 a.m. The father told police the bedroom was locked and boy’s mother’s SUV was missing from the garage.

The SUV was found headfirst in the water at the Cove at about 3:30 a.m. by a passerby, who called police, Cape May city manager Michael J. Voll said in an email.

“Police ran the Pennsylvania plate and discovered the person driving the vehicle was wanted for a homicide in Horsham, Pennsylvania,” Voll wrote. “The woman who was driving was later arrested in Wildwood Crest this morning.” bbm

Woman arrested in N.J. hours after 11-year-old son found dead in Pa. home, cops say

The mom was located in Wildwood Crest on Tuesday, according to Pennsylvania officials.

www.nj.com

 

[vls12345]

Boy found dead in Horsham, Pa. home; mom located at Jersey shore

An investigation is underway to determine how the child died, the Montgomery County District Attorney's office said.

6abc.com

[snip]

According to the D.A.'s office, the father told police he awoke to find the master bedroom door locked and his wife's black Toyota Highlander SUV was missing from the garage.

While police were investigating, the D.A. said officers were notified that the SUV was found partially submerged in the ocean just off Beach Avenue in Cape May, New Jersey.

"We had public works pull the vehicle out of the ocean, and once the police ran the license plate and serial number of the vehicle found out the vehicle was wanted in Montgomery County," said Cape May City Manager Mike Voll.

The mother was found by police in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey a short time later, the D.A.'s office said. She is being questioned by detectives.

[snip]

 

[vls12345]

 

[ifindedout]

Mother is Ruth DiRienzo Whitehead.

11-year-old boy found dead in Horsham, mother charged

The Montgomery County District Attorney has charged a mother in the death of her 11-year-old son in Horsham. At 7:06 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Horsham Police responded to a home on the 500 block of …

phl17.com

The boys father, Daniel Whitehead, told police that he knew something was wrong after waking up and seeing that the master bedroom door was locked and his wife’s black Toyota Highlander was missing from the garage.

When police arrived, Daniel told them that Matthew, had spent the previous night in the master bedroom with his mother, Ruth DiRienzo Whitehead.

 

[vls12345]

Dbm.

(Edited -- I asked about posting the mom's social media links since she is in custody. But, since there are no charges at this point & no cause of death listed yet, I deleted my questions about it.)

 

[vls12345]

Press release from the Office of the District Attorney, County of Montgomery, Norristown, PA:

https://www.montcopa.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/5729

 

[blooboyy77]

OK, why was the father not waking up in the master bedroom in the first place?

 

[BrownRice]

OK, why was the father not waking up in the master bedroom in the first place?

Maybe he snores. Lots of couples sleep separately. However, I find it odd the boy slept with his mom.

Pics I’ve seen of the family look like they are upper income with a lifestyle that doted on the child. Bizarre story with so many missing pieces.

 

[musicaljoke]

Maybe he snores. Lots of couples sleep separately. However, I find it odd the boy slept with his mom.

Pics I’ve seen of the family look like they are upper income with a lifestyle that doted on the child. Bizarre story with so many missing pieces.

Maybe the mom just locked him in the master bedroom after she had killed him. Her vehicle was found at 3:30 a.m., so there might not have been much sleeping that night.

Odd that the bedroom door was locked. Surely it would have been locked from the inside, would it not? And the father apparently heard nothing to waken him in the night. I wonder if perhaps he wasn't home that evening.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

What a strange story here..........

 

[sds71]

@BSheehanTV


#BREAKING: Montgomery Co. prosecutors have charged Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead with two counts of murder in connection to the death of her 11-year-old son. Investigators allege she blamed financial problems for the killing & admitted strangling him with a belt as he slept.

Pennsylvania Mom Accused of Strangling Son With Belt, Fleeing State

A Montgomery County mother said she strangled her 11-year-old son with her husband’s belt because she didn’t want him to grow up dealing with their family’s financial difficulties, according to investigators.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

[vls12345]

Pennsylvania Mom Accused of Strangling Son With Belt, Fleeing State

A Montgomery County mother said she strangled her 11-year-old son with her husband’s belt because she didn’t want him to grow up dealing with their family’s financial difficulties, according to investigators.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

[MyJoey]

Following…… According to her FB they got married in Cape May.

 

[vls12345]

Looks like she is a realtor.

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Ruth DiRienzo Whitehead - Real Estate Agent in Horsham, PA - Reviews | Zillow

Visit Ruth DiRienzo Whitehead's profile on Zillow to find ratings and reviews. Find great Horsham, PA real estate professionals on Zillow like Ruth DiRienzo Whitehead of Keller Williams Real Estate

www.zillow.com

 

[evilwise]

Seems like she was losing it, probably blaming dad for whatever she was losing it over - couldn't pay for something she thought she needed I suppose. Probably had been making a habit of dad sleeping in son's room and son sleeping with her. Seems like she was much more committed to killing him than to killing herself. Hope she burns.

 

[vls12345]

Distance between home & where car was found on beach.

From:

Boy, 11, found dead in PA — mom's SUV found sinking on NJ beach

Matthew Whitehead was found dead in his parents bedroom at his Horsham, Pennsylvania home just after 7 a.m. Tuesday. His mother's SUV was located partially submerged in the ocean in Cape May.

nj1015.com

 

[vls12345]

A belt was found on the floor of the partially submerged vehicle during a search, the district attorney's office says.

The boy's death was determined to be ligature strangulation by homicide, according to an autopsy.

From:

DA: Mom charged for murdering son, 11, in her bed; driving car into ocean at Cape May beach

A Pennsylvania family is left in shambles after officials say an 11-year-old boy was killed by his own mother, who then tried to drive her car into the ocean at the Jersey Shore.

www.fox29.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Investigators said DiRienzo-Whitehead killed her son after he went to sleep around 9:30 p.m. Monday, then drove the family's SUV to Cape May, New Jersey.

She drove the vehicle into the ocean, investigators said, and once the vehicle could no longer be driven, she walked to Wildwood Crest, New Jersey.

A search of the SUV turned up a black men's dress belt on the driver's side floor of the vehicle, the D.A.'s office said.

Matthew Whitehead death: Pennsylvania woman accused of strangling 11-year-old son, fleeing state

Investigators said the mother drove the family SUV into the ocean in New Jersey after the murder.

abc7chicago.com

Montgomery County District Attorney's Office announced the charges against Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, of Horsham Township, Pennsylvania. DiRienzo-Whitehead, who is being held in the Cape May County jail, according to inmate records, will be extradited to Pennsylvania for her arraignment, the District Attorney's Office said in a news release.

Pennsylvania police found the boy dead in the bedroom, where detectives say he went to sleep with DiRienzo-Whitehead. He was found with ligature marks on his neck, and his face was swollen, both of which are signs of being strangled, the District Attorney's Office said.

Pennsylvania woman charged with murder of son, 11

Police charged a Pennsylvania woman with the murder of her son, 11. Authorities say the woman then drove to a New Jersey beach and abandoned her car.

pressofatlanticcity.com