Mom Strangled Son Over Financial Woes, Fled To Jersey Shore: Records

CAPE MAY, NJ — The Pennsylvania mother who drove her SUV into the ocean in Cape May and is charged with murder in her 11-year-old son's death strangled him with her husband's belt after he was crying over the family's financial difficulties, court documents show.

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead told detectives Tuesday that she laid down with her son in the master bedroom at 9:30 p.m. Monday and said that he had been "upset and crying off and on all day" over the family's financial difficulties, according to an affidavit.

She told authorities that she didn't want her son to grow up with the financial struggles, so she strangled him with her husband's belt as he slept, the affidavit says.

DiRienzo-Whitehead was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, and possessing an instrument of crime and is awaiting arrest in the strangulation death of her son, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said. Read more: Murder Charge For Mom Who Drove Into Cape May Ocean: Officials

According to the affidavit, the father, Daniel Whitehead, discovered that the master bedroom was locked and his wife and the family's SUV were missing around 7 a.m. on April 11.

Whitehead told detectives that it was not unusual for his son to sleep in the room with his mother while he slept in another room, the document said.

He forced entry into the room where he found his 11-year-old son dead, according to the affidavit.

While police were on the scene in the house, they received a call from the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office, who had discovered DiRienzo-Whitehead's black Toyota Highlander partially submerged in the ocean just off Beach Avenue in Cape May.

She was not with the SUV, but was found later in Wildwood Crest, officials said.

After killing her son, DiRienzo-Whitehead said she took the family vehicle to Cape May County where she drove her vehicle onto The Cove Beach and into the ocean, the affidavit said.

Once Whitehead's vehicle was no longer operable, she walked to Wildwood Crest where she was located by Wildwood Crest Police Department.

In the SUV, police found a black-colored men's dress belt on the driver's side, officials said.

An autopsy of the boy concluded that the cause of death was ligature strangulation and the manner of death was homicide, officials said.

DiRienzo-Whitehead is being held in Cape May County and will be extradited back to Montgomery County for arraignment on the charges.

This article contains additional reporting by Dino Ciliberti.