A Pennsylvania mother was convicted of murdering her 11-year-old son by strangling him to death with a belt.
Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead is accused of murdering her son and she allegedly told authorities she did it because she didn’t want him to struggle financially
11-year-old Matthew Whitehead was found in their Horsham home in April 2023, according to a statement from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
Last week, a judge found DiRienzo-Whitehead guilty of first-degree murder and rejected an insanity defense that her attorneys had argued for, PEOPLE reported.
The mother was sentenced to life in prison.
Following her arrest, DiRienzo-Whitehead told police that her family had been struggling financially and she did not want her son to grow up with these struggles. She also admitted to strangling him with a belt as he slept.
Matthew’s father called 911 after he noticed the door to the primary bedroom was locked and the family’s Toyota Highlander was missing. Police found Matthew’s body in the bedroom, where he’d fallen asleep with his mother, the district attorney’s office said.
The boy had ligature marks on the front and rear of his neck, his face was swollen, and with petechiae to his eyes, authorities noticed.
Police found the missing SUV in Cape May, N.J., where DiRienzo-Whitehead had driven it into the ocean. She was found walking around six miles north of the abandoned vehicle.
Authorities said they found a belt on the floor of the driver’s side of the SUV.
