No Death Penalty For Horsham Mom Accused Of Strangling Son

HORSHAM TOWNSHIP, PA —The Horsham mother accused in the strangulation death of her 11-year-old son now has a trial date and will not be facing the death penalty.

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead appeared in Montgomery County Court in Norristown Wednesday morning and waived her formal arraignment, said Kate Delano, director of communications for the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

She said that Dirienzo-Whitehead entered a plea of not guilty and that a trial date was set.

Dirienzo-Whitehead faces first-degree murder, third-degree murder, and possessing an instrument of crime in the death of her son in April.

The district attorney will not seek the death penalty, Delano said.

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" over the family's financial difficulties, according to an affidavit.

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. She then walked to Wildwood Crest, where she was taken into custody by Wildwood Crest Police.

In late August, she agreed to waive her preliminary hearing before District Judge Charles Baum in Horsham Township District Court during an appearance attended by a dozen family members.

A trial date has been set by Judge Carpenter for Feb. 12, 2024.

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