Mother Who Murdered 17-Month-Old In Camden County Sentenced: Officials

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The woman convicted of murdering her 17-month-old son will spend life in prison without the possibility of parole, Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay said.

Judge Gwendolyn Blue sentenced 45-year-old Heather Reynolds of Sicklerville on Tuesday, MacAulay said. A Camden County jury convicted Reynolds in August on charges of murder, possession of methamphetamine, and endangering the welfare of a child.

The autopsy showed the child, Axel, died from asphyxia and the manner of death was a homicide, officials said. Officers responded to a Marcia Court home in Sicklerville on May 10, 2018 after someone called to report an unresponsive child on the lawn, officials said. The child was pronounced dead a short time later.

An NJ Advance Media report from 2019 says Reynolds was on the front lawn with the child in her arms, “screaming for her neighbors to call for help,” according to police. Prosecutors alleged Reynolds smothered Axel with a cleaning wipe because she felt he was an obstacle to her affair, the report said. Read more — Gloucester Township Mom Killed Toddler Because Of Affair: Reports

Reynolds and her boyfriend Jeffrey Callahan was also charged in an alleged murder-for-hire plot last May which was unrelated to Axel’s death, officials said.