A woman of Indian descent has been accused of allegedly killing her 11-year-old son following a three-day trip to Disneyland.
Saritha Ramaraju, 48, faces one felony murder charge for cutting her son’s throat, resulting in the boy’s death following a trip to Disneyland during a custody visit. She has additionally been charged with one felony enhancement for personal use of a weapon, specifically a knife.
According to a statement from the Office of the District Attorney, Orange County, California, released on Friday, she could receive a sentence of up to 26 years to life if found guilty on all counts.
Ramaraju, who left California following her divorce from the boy’s father in 2018, was staying with her son at a motel in Santa Ana for a custody meeting. While on the trip, she purchased three-day tickets to Disneyland for herself and her child.
On March 19, when Ramaraju was set to leave the motel and give the boy back to his father, she dialed 911 at 9:12 am to inform them that she had murdered her son and ingested pills to end her life.
Santa Ana police reached the motel and discovered the young boy lifeless on the bed in a room filled with Disneyland memorabilia. According to the statement, it seemed the boy had been deceased for a few hours prior to his mother contacting 911. The boy was set to be returned to his father that day.
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A big kitchen knife was discovered in the motel room that was bought the previous day. Ramaraju was discharged from the hospital on Thursday after consuming the unidentified substance and taken into custody on suspicion of fatally stabbing the boy.
“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,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said.
The report mentioned that Saritha Ramaraju had been engaged in a custody dispute with her husband Prakash Raju since the previous year, when she accused him of making medical and educational choices without her involvement and claimed he had problems with substance abuse.
