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

[blooboyy77]

Yes, IMO she looks void inside as if she completely destroyed her reason for living. My theory is that it was not premeditated at all, it was simply a crime of passion brought on by whatever in which she strangled Matthew with her husband's belt; was heartbroken and drove down to Cape May where I understand her marriage began; taking the belt with her perhaps to end her own life with it as she had ended Matthew's to feel a sense of closeness to him; and hoping to die more quickly chose to drive into the water to drown instead; and when that backfired, tried to walk to their vacation home in the area to mournfully depart the world there. She was apprehended before she could, is now awaiting punishment, possibly attempted suicide in the meantime hence the red marks on her neck, and will spend the rest of her life existing just to know that by her own hands the person she loved most in this world is gone forever.

I agree that it is despicable most especially if it was what I think it was, but believe me when I say I feel very truly sorry for her. What she has done not only to her son but to herself can never be undone. Her family, her marriage, her home, her career, everything she has worked for is gone. All that Matthew could have been in life, most especially a husband and a father, will never be. That sweet face of his that most of us have seen in pictures, she will only see in pictures from now on. And if she's lucky, she might get to hear his voice again in whatever audio or video of him that thankfully exists. He's only a memory now, and I'm deeply grieved for him, for her, and for everyone who loves them.

Just throwing my ideas into the think tank. Peace.

 

[ifindedout]

Video of her waiving extradition hearing before the judge in Cape May County, on 69 News:

Montgomery County mom accused of killing 11-year-old son arraigned after being extradited to Pa. from NJ

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead waived extradition as she appeared in a New Jersey courtroom through a video-call.

www.wfmz.com

The judge made sure she understood what waiving that hearing meant.

"Have you understood that, ma'am?" the judge asked.

"Yes," DiRienzo-Whitehead said.

"Do you wish to waive your rights and be returned to Pennsylvania?" the judge asked.

DiRienzo-Whitehead said she did.

 

[ifindedout]

Her name is now gone from Keller Williams' Horsham office (all agents are listed alphabetically by first name):
Keller Williams

 

[whitelilac]

I've been following,.. against my better judgement. So senseless and heartbreaking.

This woman reminds me so much of Julie Schenecker, who killed her two teenage children, and who was also upper middle class, in Tampa iirc. Terrible case. She also tried to off herself.
They even look alike.

 

[BrownRice]

I've been following,.. against my better judgement. So senseless and heartbreaking.

This woman reminds me so much of Julie Schenecker, who killed her two teenage children, and who was also upper middle class, in Tampa iirc. Terrible case. She also tried to off herself.
They even look alike.

Yes! You’re right. She does resemble her!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"They have her in what's called a suicide suit. For a reason," Tinari told Action News.

Her defense attorney says DiRienzo-Whitehead does not deny killing her son, but says she is suffering from mental illness.

"A lot of difficulty, as she already stated, with finances. But it was a lot more than that. It's not that simple. There's a multitude of factors and layers that contributed to how she got to this point," said Tinari.

Mom accused of killing son appears on courtroom video to waive extradition

During Friday's hearing, Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead only spoke to give one-word answers to the judge.

6abc.com

Dressed in, what law enforcement sources told NBC10's Deanna Durante was, a vest typically used to protect someone from harming themselves, Dirienzo-Whitehead spoke in soft -- almost inaudible -- answers when questioned by Judge Bernard DeLury.

"Do you wish to waive your rights and be returned to Pennsylvania?" asked DeLury.

Dirienzo-Whitehead nodded twice as she softly whispered the word, "yes."

Montco Mother Charged With Murdering 11-Year-Old Son Waives Extradition Hearing

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead, 50 -- who is accused of killing her son before she abandoned her car on a Jersey Shore beach this past week -- waived her right to an extradition hearing on Friday morning.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

 

[hafom8840]

I don't give a hoot what "tragedy" the mom went through, its no excuse and it's nothing more than a petty grievance

Throw the book at her

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"I am now fully convinced that this is a tragedy solely as a result of her mental health and illness," Defense Attorney Eugene Tinari said. "There is no other explanation, a sane person would never do this."

"There is no history of child abuse, no neglect, nothing other than all accounts, looking clearly like she snapped to use the vernacular," Tinair told FOX 29.

"If she were not mentally ill, you and I would not be having this discussion right now," Tinair said.

'She snapped': Attorney for Pa. woman accused of strangling son to death says she suffered mental illness

The attorney for a Montgomery County woman who accused of strangling her 11-year-old son to death due to the family's financial hardships says she "snapped under the weight of mental illness."

www.fox29.com

 

[Gemmie]

"They have her in what's called a suicide suit. For a reason," Tinari told Action News.

Her defense attorney says DiRienzo-Whitehead does not deny killing her son, but says she is suffering from mental illness.

"A lot of difficulty, as she already stated, with finances. But it was a lot more than that. It's not that simple. There's a multitude of factors and layers that contributed to how she got to this point," said Tinari.

Mom accused of killing son appears on courtroom video to waive extradition

During Friday's hearing, Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead only spoke to give one-word answers to the judge.

6abc.com

SBMFF

Interesting walk she has ~3:00 in on this video. Not only slow, but her arms hung limply at her sides.

Unforfunately that site doesn't allow you to copy a video at a particular moment so you'll have to move to ~3:00 in yourself: Mom accused of killing son appears on courtroom video to waive extradition

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“Ruth was nothing but an adoring, loving, caring mom of Matthew. She wanted the best for him,” said her attorney, Eugene Tinari.

“There is no other explanation,” Tinari said. “It’s not an excuse, but it is a reason, because there’s no other explanation of why this would occur other than she was delusional. She was hallucinating.”

According to charging documents, DiRienzo-Whitehead told detectives she strangled her son because he was upset about financial issues, and she didn’t want him to grow up with those struggles. Tinari said that statement shows she was likely “under some sort of delusion.”

“If you analyze that statement in and of itself, it’s already problematic in terms of whether or not it is coming from someone who was thinking clearly and rationally,” he said.

“What was her life with this young child before?” he continued. “The pride and joy of her life; he was her heart. So how do you go from that to doing this despicable act?”

Lawyer says mother accused of strangling 11-year-old son was ‘delusional’

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, the Horsham mother accused of strangling her 11-year-old son while he slept, was extradited back to Montgomery County. Her attorney says “there’s no other explanation of why this would occur other than she was delusional.”

www.audacy.com

*Does delusional = insanity? Seems the reported statements from her lawyer is setting up towards this defense strategy.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

People have psychotic breaks from reality all the time. I would think it rare they slow-kill their child. The very act would snap them back into reality before completion. imo

 

[vls12345]

I don't know if delusional = insanity. In this case my gut feel is that she was temporarily insane/had some kind of mental break. Purely speculation on my part and MOO.

 

[Lilibet]

It doesn’t have to be a psychotic break. For example: Not that Letecia Stauch was an adoring step-mother, but we’re seeing that the first act of hurting/burning Gannon could have led to the murder to cover it up so he couldn’t tell on her. I don’t think she’s a diabolical Letecia Stauch type, but it’s certainly possible that something like that happened in the bedroom of RD-W that night. Something that, if Matthew revealed, would ruin her reputation as an “adoring, loving, caring mother of Matthew” who “wanted the best for him” (quoting her attorney)…all of which was no doubt generally true. I can imagine that scenario could lead to murder…and to the shock she seems to be in afterward. Just an alternative thought to mental illness or being totally evil.
JMO

 

[Lilibet]

SBMFF

Interesting walk she has ~3:00 in on this video. Not only slow, but her arms hung limply at her sides.

Unforfunately that site doesn't allow you to copy a video at a particular moment so you'll have to move to ~3:00 in yourself: Mom accused of killing son appears on courtroom video to waive extradition

She looks defeated, depressed, hopeless…which I’m pretty sure she is.
JMO

 

[cocomod]

SBMFF

Interesting walk she has ~3:00 in on this video. Not only slow, but her arms hung limply at her sides.

Unforfunately that site doesn't allow you to copy a video at a particular moment so you'll have to move to ~3:00 in yourself: Mom accused of killing son appears on courtroom video to waive extradition

She might very well be drugged. If she had become hysterical after she realized what she had done, they may have given her something to calm her

 

[kkdj]

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

 

[10ofRods]

Was a realtor. She isn't a realtor anymore.

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

 

[10ofRods]

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

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.

 

[10ofRods]

If I am to take mom’s words as truth, and I don’t, but if I did then I would have to suspect emotional and financial enmeshment for a better term:

Brad Klontz, who is both a psychologist and certified financial planner, coined the term “financial incest” as a type of money disorder. But because the term is so “ew”-inducing, he ultimately decided to rename it “financial enmeshment.” No matter what you call it, there’s no question the behavior can cause chaos and lasting damage within families.

In the findings of a study Klontz and his team published in a 2012 issue of the Journal of Financial Therapy, financial enmeshment was described as “the inappropriate involvement of minor children in parental financial matters, including conversing with one’s minor children about one’s financial stress and using children as messengers to pass along financial messages between adults.”

In other words, it’s when there’s a violation of boundaries between a parent and a child, in which the parent uses the child to meet the parent’s needs in the area of finances, Klontz explained.

One common situation in which it arises, Klontz said, is during a contentious divorce. For example, a child’s mother might say that he can’t get braces because his father hasn’t paid child support. In this case, the parent is sharing inappropriate information with her son regarding her relationship with his father and its effect on the household finances. “What’s an 8-year-old supposed to do with that information?” Klontz said.

How 'Financial Incest' Creates A Lifetime Of Money Problems For Kids

Men with higher incomes are most likely to exhibit these "financial enmeshment" behaviors.

www.huffpost.com

I think the most likely explanation for the separate sleeping and the financial stress is impending divorce. They were likely at that phase where they had to figure out separate living arrangements, but had not yet done so. It's a small house, from what I've read here (actually, very small by many American standards, probably average for where they lived).

This is just a hunch, based on knowing a lot of divorcing couples (and my own divorce - for me, that phase was very scary). The goal was to keep the distress and fear as far from the kids as possible; I was very very lucky to have my parents still alive and living close by - although their house was so small that I couldn't just move there with the kids and the kids needed to have their regular school routine; they were actually in a private school as well and I had to figure out what to do about that as well.

IMO. I think this was a profound act against herself AND her husband, I just can't help but thinking this was her way of nuking her own family.


All IMO.

 

[Gemmie]

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

I really should have that OP deleted. I also should have added </end sarcasm> or some such thing. Here's a post responding to that.

PA - Mom in custody after son,11, found deceased in her bedroom, her SUV found in NJ ocean, Horsham Twp, 11 Apr 2023

In some states, it's done this way so that the jury can return a verdict of guilty, regardless of whether it was pre-meditated or intentional, or instead, was in an act of passion or whatever their law says about second degree. That way, instead of having a hung jury and a mistrial, they get a...

www.websleuths.com