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

[ifindedout]

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

First and second degree murder. Why two degrees?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

First and second degree murder. Why two degrees?

That’s what I don’t understand. Unless it’s because two states are involved but that still doesn’t make sense so idk.

 

[wary]

First and second degree murder. Why two degrees?

I’d guess that it’s because they haven’t decided yet which is the appropriate charge.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 50, is accused of fatally strangling her son, Matthew, at the family’s Horsham home.

DiRienzo-Whitehead was apprehended in Wildwood Crest, N.J., on Tuesday where she allegedly fled after the crime and was awaiting extradition to Montgomery County where she will be held without bail to await a preliminary hearing on the charges.

When detectives interviewed DiRienzo-Whitehead, she told them that she and Matthew went to bed at about 9:30 p.m. on April 10 and she “described that Matthew had been upset and crying off and on all day over the family’s financial difficulties,” according to the criminal complaint filed by Montgomery County Detective Heather Long and Horsham Township Detective Michael Peter.

“DiRienzo-Whitehead explained that she did not want Matthew to grow up with these struggles so she strangled him with her husband’s belt as he slept,” Long and Peter wrote in the arrest affidavit. bbm

Horsham woman accused of fatally strangling her son, 11, inside family’s Montgomery County home

A Horsham Township woman allegedly told detectives she fatally strangled her 11-year-old son with a belt as he slept because she didn’t want him to grow up having to struggle with the family’s fina…

www.pottsmerc.com

*Why does an 11 year old know enough about their finances to be that upset in the first place? Sounds like she may have switched the emotional roles of her son and her husband.

 

[BrownRice]

Not buying this story. I wonder if it was to destroy her husband. This is horrible

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Not buying this story. I wonder if it was to destroy her husband. This is horrible

…with husband’s belt too

 

[JurassicParker]

Either she's got some vendetta against the spouse or she had one hell of a mental break down. It always boggles my mind when a mother kills her child.

 

[sds71]

“Strangulation takes time. So this is a brutal murder of a little boy,” District Attorney Kevin Steele said at the news conference.


Matthew Whitehead was a 6th-grader at Germantown Academy, the school said Wednesday, and had attended the school since kindergarten.

In a statement, the school said Matthew "was an extraordinary child with a smile as bright as the sun."

"We loved him, and we will forever mourn his loss, a devastating tragedy for our community, his family, his friends, and our world.

"We will do everything in our power to carry his memory forward, to honor him as he so truly deserves, and to live our lives well as a tribute to him.

"Matthew is the embodiment of love, promise and goodness, and we will never, ever forget him.

"In addition to this unfathomable loss, the circumstances are complicating our community's grief. We are all struggling, and we ask you to respect our children and families' privacy as we help them navigate through this tragedy."

Mom charged with murder of 11-year-old son in Horsham, Pennsylvania then fleeing to New Jersey

She allegedly told detectives she did not want her son to grow up with financial struggles, so she strangled him as he slept, according to the criminal complaint.

6abc.com

 

[vls12345]

Criminal Docket Number: MJ-38122-CR-0000028-2023

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
v.
Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch

 

[jaeljoh]

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

 

[vls12345]

Office of the District Attorney Press Release: MOTHER CHARGED WITH FIRST-DEGREE MURDER IN STRANGULATION KILLING OF HER SON

https://www.montcopa.org/DocumentCenter/View/38716/Press-Release_Horsham-Mother-Charged-with-First-Degree-Murder-in-the-Killing-of-Her-Son

 

[blooboyy77]

I'm not buying her story, either. Viewing her FB page, there were very few pics of her husband and mostly pics of her son. <modsnip> JMO

 

[ifindedout]

Criminal Docket Number: MJ-38122-CR-0000028-2023

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
v.
Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead

https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch

Interesting, now it's 1st and 3rd degree murder charges, along with possession of instrument.

 

[ifindedout]

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

I wonder if she had weaponized his tuition, told him that they couldn't afford GA anymore, and would be facing public school (in this case Keith Valley MS, in the Hatboro-Horsham School District) for 7th grade. MOO

 

[BrownRice]

Either she's got some vendetta against the spouse or she had one hell of a mental break down. It always boggles my mind when a mother kills her child.

And it’s an 11 yo boy. So probably close to her size, not a toddler. No way he slept thru it. Unless she hopefully drugged him.

 

[ifindedout]

Mom charged with murder of 11-year-old son in Horsham, Pennsylvania then fleeing to New Jersey

She allegedly told detectives she did not want her son to grow up with financial struggles, so she strangled him as he slept, according to the criminal complaint.

6abc.com

Earlier on the Action News page, there was a juxtaposition of her mugshot next to the Lori trial story in their top stories sidebar. Her face is almost a mirror image of LVD's. JMO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A neighbor, Ed Smith, told WFMZ-TV that the boy's death was “very tragic” and the case was “surprising.”

“Very nice people. Good neighbors,” he told the station. Smith and his wife, Diane, said they have known the boy's mother for more than four decades.

Pennsylvania mother charged in son's death after SUV found at NJ beach

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 50, from Horsham is charged with first- and third-degree murder in the death of her 11-year-old son, Matthew Whitehead.

www.fox43.com

Whitehead told detectives that his wife had spent the night in the master bedroom with their son, while he slept in another room. Whitehead said that was not unusual, according to the affidavit.

Horsham Mom Strangled Son Over Financial Woes, Records Show

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead told detectives that she strangled her son with her husband's belt, a court document said.

patch.com

*It seems like we are talking about two different people. Something had to trigger her decision to strangle her child she birthed eleven years ago. This is horrific madness.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646211587173396480

 

[Schatz]

I wonder if she had weaponized his tuition, told him that they couldn't afford GA anymore, and would be facing public school (in this case Keith Valley MS, in the Hatboro-Horsham School District) for 7th grade. MOO

My initial read (MOO) is mental health breakdown possibly triggered by a massive change to the family’s finances for whatever reason. Maybe it wasn’t intentionally “weaponized” - maybe they legit couldn’t afford the private school anymore. I’m sure that would have been incredibly upsetting to the child.

 

[Lucy6226]

How incredibly sad, this poor boy. Strangulation is usually linked with anger, a lot of women that murder their children do so by drowning or suffocation as a 'mercy killing'. I'm not sure she is being honest about her reasons, moo

 

[nhmemorymaker]

This husband must be in such shock right now, but I just know I have to hear more from him, before trying to attempt to understand this egregious act.