Boy Found Dead In Horsham Home, Mother Found In NJ: DA

Updated: 1:23 p.m.

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —Authorities are investigating the death of an 11-year-old boy in the township Tuesday morning in which his mother was later found at the Jersey Shore.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Horsham Police Chief Scott Fida announced an investigation into the death of an 11-year-old boy, found deceased by his father Tuesday morning.

At 7:06 a.m., Horsham Police responded to a home in the 500 block of Privet Road in Horsham Township after the boy’s father, Daniel Whitehead, found his son dead and called 911.

Police arrived to find the boy dead in the bed in the master bedroom, where he had spent the night with his mother, Ruth DiRienzo Whitehead.

A joint investigation into the boy’s death has been launched by Montgomery County Detectives and Horsham Police.

The father told police that when he awoke Tuesday morning, he noticed the master bedroom door was locked and his wife’s black Toyota Highlander was missing from the garage.

While police were still in the family home, Cape May, N.J., police found the wife’s SUV partially submerged in the ocean just off Beach Avenue in Cape May.

A short time later, DiRienzo Whitehead was found alive by Wildwood Crest Police, and she is being questioned by detectives.

The cause of death is pending an autopsy by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office. No charges have been filed.

Privet Road was closed for several hours before reopening Tuesday morning.

Editor's Note —A breaking news alert went out that the mother was found dead in Wildwood Crest. The mother was found by police there. Patch apologizes for the error.