New Jersey Mother Convicted Of Murdering Her Toddler Allegedly Because He Was An ‘Obstacle’ To Her Cheating

A mother in New Jersey has been convicted in the murder of a toddler because they were getting in the way of her cheating.

Last Thursday, 44-year-old Heather Reynolds was found guilty of murdering her 17-month-old toddler, Axel. On May 10, 2018, Reynolds reportedly suffocated the baby boy by covering his mouth and nose with a cleaning wipe. She then ran from her home while screaming with Axel in her arms; she yelled out to neighbors for help, PEOPLE reports.

“The child was pronounced deceased a short time later,” a statement from the Gloucester Township Police reads. After a review of text messages from Reynold’s phone, authorities came to the belief that Reynolds murdered her son because he became a burden for her extramarital affair.

 At the time of the murder, Reynolds was married to her husband, who worked out of town often. 

“A review of the text messages between the defendant and her boyfriend from the previous night reveal that the defendant was becoming frustrated by the boyfriend’s apparent lack of interest,” said Assistant Prosecutor Gallagher back in court in 2019. In addition, witnesses said Reynolds at one point told them “that her toddler son … was an obstacle to her relationship with her boyfriend.” She was arrested on June 13, 2019.

On Thursday, Reynolds was found guilty of murder, possession of methamphetamine, and endangering the welfare of a child, according to prosecutors in Camden County. She’ll be sentenced in October for smothering Axel.