Saritha Ramaraju, Irvine, California mother fatally slits 11 year old son in the neck during three day custody trip to Disneyland. Boy is found dead amid souvenirs at a Santa Ana motel.
A California mother has been charged with murder after slitting her 11 year old son’s throat, killing the boy after a three day vacation to Disneyland during a custody visit.
Saritha Ramaraju, 48, of Irvine, CA, according to an Orange County DA news release called 911 on Wednesday to report she had fatally stabbed the boy as well as saying she had taken pills in an attempt to end her life. Responding officers found the slain boy lying on a bed at a Santa Ana motel room, amongst Disneyland souvenirs. Also found was the boy’s mother who was taken to hospital for treatment.
The boy whose name was not given was suppose to be returned to his father later that morning. Prosecutors said it appeared that the boy had been dead for several hours before Ramaraju calling 911.
Mother was embroiled in custody battle with 11 year old boy’s father
A large kitchen knife was found in the room. It was purchased the day before on Tuesday
The boy’s mother was released from hospital on Thursday after ingesting an unknown substance (since revealed to be pain pills) in what authorities believe may have been a failed suicide attempt. The parent was arrested on suspicion of stabbing the 11-year-old to death.
Ramaraju appearing in court on Friday was charged with one felony count of murder and one felony enhancement of personal use of a weapon, a knife, KTLA reported.
‘The life of a child should not hang in the balance between two parents whose anger for each other outweighs their love for their child,’ said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. ‘Anger can make you forget who you love and what you are responsible for doing. The safest place for a child should be in their parents’ arms. Instead of wrapping her arms around her son in love, she slit his throat and in the cruelest twist of fate removed him from the very world she brought him into.’
According to Spitzer, Ramaraju took her 11-year-old son on a three-day trip to Disneyland during a custody visit earlier in the week. On Wednesday, she was scheduled to return the boy to his father, whom she divorced from in 2018. The parents had been embroiled in a custody battle over their son.
Ramaraju and the 11 year old were staying on the third floor of the La Quinta Inn in the 2700 block of Hotel Terrace in Santa Ana at the time of the incident.
If convicted, the mother could face up to 26 years in jail.
