Found Deceased FL - Alejandro Ripley, 9, autistic, Miami-Dade County, May 2020 *mother arrested*

[imstilla.grandma]

I didn't get the attempted homicide charge and the homicide charge both until I saw the news that she tossed the kid in the canal once and someone fished him out, then she went to another water location then pushed him in again. It was horrific enough to hear she tossed him in once, you'd think she'd regret it, try to get him out, but no, she did it again. We are in shock here. I can't fathom what people are doing to children these days. How can you harm a baby? Your own baby? One man here said 'Can you imagine how terrified that boy must have been? Here's his mother, and she's hurting him.'

Immediately I suffered triggers and shudders of Gannon Stauch which I’ve been heavily involved in. It went through my heart like a knife.

 

[California Sunset]

How would anyone's "culture" would ever come into play in a case of a murdered child? Violence against children, let alone murder is not part of any civilized culture, no matter what people say. Discipline and emotional distance are common in several cultures, but as far as I know, not in the hispanic culture. Hispanics are generally very family oriented.
The couple's other child was much older than Alejandro, probably 10 years older. They do seem like a pretty normal family, the older kid went to a private school, Alejandro was getting help and what seems like pretty adequate educational services. We do see a lot of autistic kids getting victimized, but they're usually neglected and abused immensely until they finally end up being murdered by their parents, this really doesn't seem like it's the same scenario but who knows.

BBM. How about if I get back to you on the 'end up murdered by their parents.'?
I'm aware of a lot of children being physically and/or sexually abused by foster or adoptive parents, even murdered. I can name hundreds.

Is there a thread or forum on WS about this already?

Alejandro reminded me of Marcus Fiesel, 3, right away. Marcus's mom was a single parent of three, and he was also autistic, a very energetic child. Marcus's mother tried really hard, but she ended up so exhausted, she told the police she didn't think she was capable anymore. She did not harm him. Instead of providing resources to the mother, foster care took the children. Within five months, Marcus was dead, killed by the foster parents that were 'so much better equipped to help'.

Alejandro's mother needed a break before she broke. If the mom didn't recognize her need, someone else should have. 'The system' failed this family.

 

[California Sunset]

I'm so curious what that 911 call sounds like.

Isn't it on here? I thought I'd heard it.

 

[California Sunset]

Maybe they just though he fell in, and they were helping him, and his mother, rescue the boy. I doubt that this good samaritan thought that his mother was responsible.

This good person must be a mess right now, to know they were the last kind soul to see and help Alejandro. And that about an hour later this child was murdered, allegedly in the same manner.

They thought wrong. IMO They should have called the police. I suppose I overreact, but how would you have felt? Ted Bundy abducted a 12 year old from a school, the security guard who saw the abduction thought Ted was the girl's father and she was screaming because 'she was in trouble.' Ted killed that little girl.
A 4 year old patient was found on the stairs in the hospital, going 'to look for mommy.'
Someone was watching a child in a department store, and the mother was oblivious to the stranger's attention. I was there watching the stranger. As he took steps towards the child, the mother turned around and called the little girl. She ran to her mother. Nothing bad happened but I realized too late I should have told the mother. (Right?)
Sometimes it's just 'a feeling' but it feels wrong.
In an amusement park one day, lost in the crowd, the parents went one way, the child was going in another direction, when the child started to run, he was stopped. Only steps away, there was a park employee, and within a few minutes, the parents were back. The park employee was great. What if someone hadn't stepped in?
The dad lost the child on the beach. He said, is he in here? The mom said, no, you have him. The little boy was about 100 yards up the beach. They got him back safely. The next year, a little girl was missing. They found her on the boardwalk, blocks away, hours later, but she was safe and unharmed.

 

[chimpface]

BBM. How about if I get back to you on the 'end up murdered by their parents.'?
I'm aware of a lot of children being physically and/or sexually abused by foster or adoptive parents, even murdered. I can name hundreds.

Is there a thread or forum on WS about this already?

Alejandro reminded me of Marcus Fiesel, 3, right away. Marcus's mom was a single parent of three, and he was also autistic, a very energetic child. Marcus's mother tried really hard, but she ended up so exhausted, she told the police she didn't think she was capable anymore. She did not harm him. Instead of providing resources to the mother, foster care took the children. Within five months, Marcus was dead, killed by the foster parents that were 'so much better equipped to help'.

Alejandro's mother needed a break before she broke. If the mom didn't recognize her need, someone else should have. 'The system' failed this family.

The mother failed this family, or more specifically, this child.

 

[Lusitana]

BBM. How about if I get back to you on the 'end up murdered by their parents.'?
I'm aware of a lot of children being physically and/or sexually abused by foster or adoptive parents, even murdered. I can name hundreds.

Is there a thread or forum on WS about this already?

Alejandro reminded me of Marcus Fiesel, 3, right away. Marcus's mom was a single parent of three, and he was also autistic, a very energetic child. Marcus's mother tried really hard, but she ended up so exhausted, she told the police she didn't think she was capable anymore. She did not harm him. Instead of providing resources to the mother, foster care took the children. Within five months, Marcus was dead, killed by the foster parents that were 'so much better equipped to help'.

Alejandro's mother needed a break before she broke. If the mom didn't recognize her need, someone else should have. 'The system' failed this family.

Eh, I don't know. People do snap out of the blue, which is what scares me the most. For all we know, she was a good mother until she tried to kill her own son... twice. She did kill him though so, she will have to face the consequences and that's it. I can't imagine someone being so out of it, for one reason or another, that they don't realize that what they're doing is wrong, but I guess it does happen. These cases of "normal" mothers and fathers that, one day just kill their kids freak me out so much.

 

[RememberingRyan]

They thought wrong. IMO They should have called the police. I suppose I overreact, but how would you have felt? Ted Bundy abducted a 12 year old from a school, the security guard who saw the abduction thought Ted was the girl's father and she was screaming because 'she was in trouble.' Ted killed that little girl.
A 4 year old patient was found on the stairs in the hospital, going 'to look for mommy.'
Someone was watching a child in a department store, and the mother was oblivious to the stranger's attention. I was there watching the stranger. As he took steps towards the child, the mother turned around and called the little girl. She ran to her mother. Nothing bad happened but I realized too late I should have told the mother. (Right?)
Sometimes it's just 'a feeling' but it feels wrong.
In an amusement park one day, lost in the crowd, the parents went one way, the child was going in another direction, when the child started to run, he was stopped. Only steps away, there was a park employee, and within a few minutes, the parents were back. The park employee was great. What if someone hadn't stepped in?
The dad lost the child on the beach. He said, is he in here? The mom said, no, you have him. The little boy was about 100 yards up the beach. They got him back safely. The next year, a little girl was missing. They found her on the boardwalk, blocks away, hours later, but she was safe and unharmed.

There is nothing to suggest that the person or people who helped Alejandro out of the water saw his mother push him in. We do not know how she reacted when she saw him pulled out. Alejandro was nonverbal and could not tell his rescuers what happened. He may also not have fully understood what happened to him and may not have exhibited fear when being returned to his mother. He may have been relieved to see her and even himself believed that she was still his protector. Many children who are nonverbal with autism diagnoses also have intellectual disability or other cognitive differences which could impair his awareness of danger. Children on the spectrum also have a disproportionately high risk of drowning due to unusual interest in bodies of water and if the rescuer(s) were aware of this they may have just felt like rescuing the child and returning him to his mother was saving her the heartache of losing her child. Assuming that the person or people involved in the rescue had any opportunity to think the mother did anything wrong and deliberately failed this child is completely unjustified.

 

[PhoneJockey]

How would anyone's "culture" would ever come into play in a case of a murdered child? Violence against children, let alone murder is not part of any civilized culture, no matter what people say. Discipline and emotional distance are common in several cultures, but as far as I know, not in the hispanic culture. Hispanics are generally very family oriented.

Snipped by me.

I definitely did not mean that their culture would be behind the murdering of this child. I meant more along the lines of did their culture prevent her from reaching out for help? Did she reach out for help from the husband but was dismissed? Did she feel alone even within her close family? Was this a keep family business to the family only type thing? Or any other number of things that might add pressure to her struggling to cope with the stress of raising a disabled child. From all accounts, even the family themselves, she was a great mother. They were a loving family by all appearances. But, as we know, appearances are rarely what they seem. Those types of things can happen within families of any background. I am not in any way insinuating that their heritage is to blame, I would never. However, there was SOMETHING that lead to this happening - whether it was gradual over time or just a sudden snap. It doesn't excuse what she did or make it reasonable, but there are definitely circumstances that led her to murder.

 

[California Sunset]

The mother failed this family, or more specifically, this child.

Yes, she did, but the people that saw what she was dealing with and didn't realize it was too much for her failed her. How many people do this but kill themselves, too. How much of the last couple months did she get any kind of a break? It's hard dealing with the energizer bunny. The neighbors say this child was always smiling, always happy. I don't know if he was high energy or not. It's hard dealing with the energizer bunny. But for her to do this, I just can't understand it. How can someone harm those precious babies?
I didn't get Susan Smith at all either. She didn't want her children but she didn't want their father to have them either.
Thou shall not kill. God didn't give anyone the right to take another life.

 

[California Sunset]

There is nothing to suggest that the person or people who helped Alejandro out of the water saw his mother push him in. We do not know how she reacted when she saw him pulled out. Alejandro was nonverbal and could not tell his rescuers what happened. He may also not have fully understood what happened to him and may not have exhibited fear when being returned to his mother. He may have been relieved to see her and even himself believed that she was still his protector. Many children who are nonverbal with autism diagnoses also have intellectual disability or other cognitive differences which could impair his awareness of danger. Children on the spectrum also have a disproportionately high risk of drowning due to unusual interest in bodies of water and if the rescuer(s) were aware of this they may have just felt like rescuing the child and returning him to his mother was saving her the heartache of losing her child. Assuming that the person or people involved in the rescue had any opportunity to think the mother did anything wrong and deliberately failed this child is completely unjustified.

One is not supposed to assume anything. They weren't qualified to pass judgement. The police should have been called. The police should have been better equipped to ascertain the facts. The boy was in the water, the mother wasn't getting him out. There's a problem there. They didn't have to see anything that led up to it to think there was a possibility the child was at risk. CPS takes perfectly healthy, uninjured, not at risk children all the time. They take children with minor injuries caused by an accident. They took five children because one of the children fainted because she needed vitamins.

 

[californiagem]

Isn't it on here? I thought I'd heard it.

I'm not sure. Does anyone else know if 911 call is public?

 

[California Sunset]

Eh, I don't know. People do snap out of the blue, which is what scares me the most. For all we know, she was a good mother until she tried to kill her own son... twice. She did kill him though so, she will have to face the consequences and that's it. I can't imagine someone being so out of it, for one reason or another, that they don't realize that what they're doing is wrong, but I guess it does happen. These cases of "normal" mothers and fathers that, one day just kill their kids freak me out so much.

BBM
This has bothered me a lot. She didn't panic and push him in, she did it twice. I don't know what happened, but she got him back the first time, and did it right over again. That tells me she was deeply troubled. Like Andrea Yates. How does someone get that bad without someone else picking up signals? There's a lot of speculation that the COVID19 thing, the being stuck at home with all the difficulties may have pushed her past her breaking point. A very wise man once told me everyone has their breaking point.

 

[California Sunset]

I'm not sure. Does anyone else know if 911 call is public?

I thought I heard it, in a televised news report, but maybe it was just a description of what she said, like a transcript. Maybe I'm wrong. They become public eventually, but maybe they won't release it until after trial. Right now, isn't it evidence?

 

[RememberingRyan]

One is not supposed to assume anything. They weren't qualified to pass judgement. The police should have been called. The police should have been better equipped to ascertain the facts. The boy was in the water, the mother wasn't getting him out. There's a problem there. They didn't have to see anything that led up to it to think there was a possibility the child was at risk. CPS takes perfectly healthy, uninjured, not at risk children all the time. They take children with minor injuries caused by an accident. They took five children because one of the children fainted because she needed vitamins.

What evidence do you have to suggest that those involved in the rescue could tell that the mother was not trying to get him out? Where does it say that they had line of sight on the mother before or during the rescue? If she pushed him from an area where she was not visible to anyone else when she pushed him, then it is also logical to conclude that the person or people rescuing him did not see the mother until after they got him out of the water. She easily could have run up and acted shocked and relieved after she saw that they were pulling him from the water. It is very easy to imagine all sorts of scenarios that do not include the people who cared enough to rescue a child not somehow also being so careless irresponsible as to hand a child over to someone if they had a reasonable expectation that the person was a threat to their safety. It is a huge stretch to assume that they witnessed anything that would justify a call to police. They were reasonable enough to pull a child from the water. We can extend the courtesy to assume that they would have been reasonable enough to call police if they had seen anything that would inspire a reasonable person to do so.

 

[californiagem]

I thought I heard it, in a televised news report, but maybe it was just a description of what she said, like a transcript. Maybe I'm wrong. They become public eventually, but maybe they won't release it until after trial. Right now, isn't it evidence?

I looked through articles and I don't believe it's been released.

 

[RememberingRyan]

You are entitled to your opinion, I am entitled to mine. My opinion is based on my prior work history, my prior training, my prior education, my prior experience and my old age. I'm not going to get into a back and forth with you or anyone else.

Your experience and training may also allow you to see very subtle signs that would motivate you to dig deeper than an average person, too. People with average experience and interactions with others are not necessarily predisposed to feel suspicious of others and if those who pulled him from the water only saw a parent who effectively pretended to be distraught, they may not have seen what you, with more information about the situation, see now. The rescuer(s) did not kill Alejandro and regardless of opinion, I do not think it is appropriate to attack them for their actions here.

 

[mrsinsyder]

Video has been released of her committing the act.

I worked in child welfare for 12 years and it made me sick. I’d unwatch it if I could.

Watch with caution if you need. https://www.univision.com/shows/not...nato-lanzo-a-su-hijo-autista-a-un-canal-video

 

[Eloise]

Sadly, murders of autistic children were horribly common even before the corona virus came along. I can only image quarantine is leading to even higher rates. The fictional men-of-color who always seem to crop up in these stories told me all I needed to know.

This is so sickening and awful. RIP Alejandro, you deserved so much better. I can't imagine what was going through his head BOTH times his own mother pushed him into the water. I hope his father and brother will come to see her for what she really is.

At least it seems like the popular response to these stories is not sympathy to the murderers anymore, but condemnation. There always used to be voices defending perpetrators in situations like this, but I don't see that so much anymore.

Absolutely, it should be condemnation. The only thing I'd say is that it highlights how much support there needs to be for families raising and supporting kids with special needs.

 

[Kavya01]

The times we live in are sadly not very conducive to keeping close tabs on others. Specially strangers. People are hurried and skittish and eager to stay away from others.
Much, sadly, is getting lost in translation I think in these months. Women and children both are at a lot higher risk.

 

[katydid23]

One is not supposed to assume anything. They weren't qualified to pass judgement. The police should have been called. The police should have been better equipped to ascertain the facts. The boy was in the water, the mother wasn't getting him out. There's a problem there. They didn't have to see anything that led up to it to think there was a possibility the child was at risk. CPS takes perfectly healthy, uninjured, not at risk children all the time. They take children with minor injuries caused by an accident. They took five children because one of the children fainted because she needed vitamins.

I don't think we can blame to good Samaritan, without having more info.

For all we know, she was hiding out somewhere watching. And when she saw that someone was saving the poor child, she ran up screaming and crying " My baby, my baby, I've been looking all over...thank you for saving my boy!"

Who would think a mother was purposely drowning her child in that situation?

If she bundles him up in a blanket, hugs him and carries him to her car, are you going to call the police?