Horsham Mom Murder Case: 5 Things We Know

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —One week has passed since a Horsham mother was charged with murder in the strangulation death of her 11-year-old son.

Here are five things we know about the murder case so far:

The Crime

An 11-year-old boy was found dead in his Privet Road home on Tuesday, April 11. The boy was discovered around 7 a.m., Tuesday, by his father who found the door to the master bedroom locked and his wife, Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, and the family’s Toyota Highlander missing.

The father called 911 and Horsham Police responded to the family home in the 500 block of Privet Road. Police found the boy dead in the bed of the master bedroom, where he had gone to sleep with his mother.

The Flight

Authorities said after DiRienzo-Whitehead left her home, she drove the family’s SUV to Cape May, N.J. There, she proceeded to drive the vehicle into the ocean just off Beach Avenue, where it was found by Cape May Police.

After the vehicle was no longer operable, the defendant walked to Wildwood Crest, where she was taken into custody by the Wildwood Crest Police and interviewed by detectives from the Montgomery County Detective Bureau and Horsham Township Police.

The family often took trips to the Jersey Shore and had a beach house in Wildwood Crest.

The Charges

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead was charged with first-degree murder, third-degree murder, and possessing an instrument of crime. She was extradited from the Jersey Shore back to Montgomery County on Friday and is being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

There is no bail available for first-degree murder charges.

The Motive

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead said that she strangled her son with her husband's belt at the family's Privet Road home after he had been "upset and crying off and on all day" last Monday over the family's financial difficulties, according to an affidavit.

Dirienzo-Whitehead explained to authorities that she did not want her son to grow up with these financial struggles so she strangled him with her husband's belt as the boy slept Monday night, the affidavit states.

The Court Date

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 12:30 p.m., May 10, before Magisterial District Judge Harry Nesbitt III in Horsham Township. An April 27 date was initially scheduled but that was continued, according to court records.

Related stories

Horsham Mom Accused Of Strangling Son Gets Court Date

Horsham Mom Accused Of Strangling Son Waives Extradition

New Details On Horsham Mom Accused Of Strangling Son

Horsham Mom Strangled Son Over Financial Woes, Records Show

Horsham Mother Charged With Murder In Death Of Son, 11