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

[cocomod]

MSN

No Death Penalty For Horsham Mom Accused Of Strangling Son​

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead appeared in Montgomery County Court in Norristown Wednesday morning and waived her formal arraignment, said Kate Delano, director of communications for the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

She said that Dirienzo-Whitehead entered a plea of not guilty and that a trial date was set.

A trial date has been set by Judge Carpenter for Feb. 12, 2024.

 

[DFWNF]

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.

My partner and I sleep on separate couches, same room, we have a senior dog who cannot climb our 2 steep staircases and we won't sleep away from her. Jme

 

[Katrinepa]

My partner and I sleep on separate couches, same room, we have a senior dog who cannot climb our 2 steep staircases and we won't sleep away from her. Jme

If children get scared/have bad dreams, they may go sleep with Mom/Dad. I wouldn't think upper income necessarily, as their house in a Middle Class area. She had an expensive vehicle, but it may have been leased... She was a Real Estate Broker, but no idea what she had actually sold, or her husband's profession. Their child went to a very expensive private school, which is costly for sure. Tuition varies depending on the grade, and increases as grades do. Generally not worth paying all that, when local Elementaries are well rated. It will be interesting to see what comes to light in her trial. So sad.

 

[ifindedout]

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

Sold on May 26, 2023 for $807K.

 

[ifindedout]

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead waives her right to a jury trial.

Horsham mother accused of killing son with belt then driving her SUV into the ocean waives right to jury trial

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead is set for a bench trial before Montgomery County Judge William Carpenter starting Feb. 15. She is accused of choking her 11-year-old son to death with a belt in April 2022.

www.audacy.com

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA (KYW Newsradio) — The Horsham woman accused of killing her son with a belt then driving her SUV into the ocean last year waived her right to a jury trial Friday and will instead have a Montgomery County judge decide her fate.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

During a brief hearing in Montgomery County Court on Friday, Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, informed Judge William R. Carpenter about her decision to waive her right to a jury trial and instead allow Carpenter to act as sole fact finder and determine her fate when her trial begins Feb. 12.

“Are you doing it on your own free will?” defense lawyer Eugene P. Tinari asked DiRienzo-Whitehead about her decision.

“Yes, I am,” DiRienzo-Whitehead responded.

Horsham woman accused of killing 11-year-old son opts for a non-jury trial

A Horsham Township woman accused of using a belt to fatally strangle her 11-year-old son as he slept in their home informed a judge that she will proceed with a non-jury trial on homicide charges.

www.pottsmerc.com

 

[ifindedout]

Bench trial has begun

Trial begins for Montgomery County mom accused of strangling son with belt

The trial began Monday for a Montgomery County mother accused of strangling her son with her husband’s belt because she didn’t want him to grow up dealing with their family’s financial difficulties.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead, 51, is accused of killing her son and driving to a Jersey Shore beach where investigators said she left her vehicle in the ocean before walking to a nearby town.

Her bench trial, which has no jury, began Monday morning and is expected to end quickly with a possible verdict by Tuesday afternoon, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

 

[cocomod]

I love that this went to trial within a year. Justice for Matthew!!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

“I saw him laying on the bed face down. I screamed,” Daniel Whitehead testified through tears in Montgomery County Court on Monday at the trial of Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead who faces charges of first- and third-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime.

“He was a great boy. He was always happy,” Daniel Whitehead recalled his son who was a sixth-grade student at Germantown Academy.

During his testimony, Daniel Whitehead repeatedly referred to his wife of 13 years as “the defendant.” At one point, he glared at her as he was asked to identify her for the record in the courtroom.

‘I screamed’: Father testifies during his wife’s trial of finding their son dead

Nonjury trial begins for Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead on charges of first- and third-degree murder and related offenses in the strangulation death of 11-year-old son Matthew inside the family home.

www.delcotimes.com

Mom on trial for 11-year-old son's murder, driving car into ocean at Jersey Shore beach

A trial has begun in Montgomery County for a mother accused of strangling her son to death last year as a search led police to a beached car in Cape May.

www.fox29.com

Trial Resumes Wednesday For Horsham Mom Accused In Son's Death

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead's trial on first-degree murder charges in the strangulation death of her 11-year-old son was delayed by the storm.

patch.com

 

[BrownRice]

I don’t understand why she (and every other similarly suited defendant) doesn’t just plead guilty and be done with it

 

[ifindedout]

Found guilty of first-degree murder.

Horsham woman who strangled her son with belt and drove into ocean found guilty of murder

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

www.inquirer.com

A Horsham woman was found guilty of first-degree murder Thursday morning for strangling her 11-year-old son, Matthew, with a leather belt as he slept inside the family’s home last April.

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison and is scheduled for sentencing Friday morning. Montgomery County Judge William Carpenter rendered a verdict after closing arguments in which DiRienzo-Whithead’s attorney argued she strangled her son during a “psychotic episode” and prosecutors argued she did it out of anger, vengeance, and spite for her husband.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

Found guilty of first-degree murder.

A Horsham woman was found guilty of first-degree murder Thursday morning for strangling her 11-year-old son, Matthew, with a leather belt as he slept inside the family’s home last April.

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison and is scheduled for sentencing Friday morning. Montgomery County Judge William Carpenter rendered a verdict after closing arguments in which DiRienzo-Whithead’s attorney argued she strangled her son during a “psychotic episode” and prosecutors argued she did it out of anger, vengeance, and spite for her husband.

I do think she is sick. But this is the right verdict in this case, imo.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Such a sad case. I'm sure she was very depressed, but many people are. It doesn't sound like actual psychosis, IMO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, of Horsham, faces a mandatory life term when she's sentenced Friday.

Montgomery County prosecutors argued the killing was premeditated, saying she had made numerous online searches on how to strangle someone and did research on mental illnesses that lead women to kill their own children. They also said DiRienzo-Whitehead blamed her husband for the family’s financial issues and was motivated to kill by a mix of anger and revenge.

https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/pennsylvania-mom-convicted-of-strangling-18669886.php

 

[Really?]

Spite killer, I think. Disgusting individual.

 

[JennieM]

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, of Horsham, faces a mandatory life term when she's sentenced Friday.

Montgomery County prosecutors argued the killing was premeditated, saying she had made numerous online searches on how to strangle someone and did research on mental illnesses that lead women to kill their own children. They also said DiRienzo-Whitehead blamed her husband for the family’s financial issues and was motivated to kill by a mix of anger and revenge.

https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/pennsylvania-mom-convicted-of-strangling-18669886.php

I didn’t expect this. I never thought it was premeditated before now.

 

[JennieM]

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

www.instagram.com

Boy Mom

 

[realanastasia]

I didn’t expect this. I never thought it was premeditated before now.

Same here—the premeditation is chilling, and the fact she “let” Matthew sleep in the parents’ bedroom with her because he was upset earlier in the day, all the while knowing she would be killing him once he had fallen asleep, is gut-wrenching.

 

[ifindedout]

Sentenced to life without parole.

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead sentenced to life in prison for strangling 11-year-old son to death last year

The Horsham boy who was strangled with a belt in his sleep last year was remembered by those who loved him Friday, as his mother was sentenced to life in prison without parole for his murder.

www.audacy.com

Daniel Whitehead spoke through what were, at times, uncontrollable sobs, saying while they were there to sentence his wife Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead for the murder of their 11-year-old son Matthew, it wasn’t about her, it was about their son.

“The grief that Mr. Whitehead is experiencing and has experienced from the morning that he found his son is unfathomable grief that no father should ever experience,” said Prosecutor Lauren Marvel.

[...]

As she was led from the courtroom, DiRienzo-Whitehead said, “I am heartbroken and —’’

DiRienzo-Whitehead appeared to want to say more before she was led into the elevator.

'I'm so sorry': Montco mom who killed her son has been sentenced to life in prison

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead, 51, has been sentenced to life in prison after she was found guilty of the April 2023 murder of her 11-year-old son, who she strangled with a belt, before she drove into the ocean at the Jersey Shore.

www.nbcphiladelphia.com

During the course of the case Dirienzo-Whitehead has maintained her silence—on Friday she admitted she took her son's future and asked for forgiveness.

Dirienzo-Whitehead told the court only a "monster would do something like this." She also told the court that she knows the life her son should have had and she was so proud of him.

She never said why she took a belt and strangles her son. [sic]

 

[neesaki]

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, of Horsham, faces a mandatory life term when she's sentenced Friday.

Montgomery County prosecutors argued the killing was premeditated, saying she had made numerous online searches on how to strangle someone and did research on mental illnesses that lead women to kill their own children. They also said DiRienzo-Whitehead blamed her husband for the family’s financial issues and was motivated to kill by a mix of anger and revenge.

https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/pennsylvania-mom-convicted-of-strangling-18669886.php

How on earth can a mother do this to their child. That baby trusted her with his very life, and she took it from him in such a horrific violent way. How can she possibly live with herself?