An Indian-origin woman accused of killing her 11-year-old son in a California’s Santa Ana hotel room has been charged with murder.
Saritha Ramaraju, 48, was accused of slitting her son’s throat after they went on a vacation to Disneyland during a custody visit. Additional charges include a felony enhancement for using a knife.
If found guilty of all charges, she could receive 26 years to life imprisonment, according to Friday’s statement from the Orange County District Attorney‘s Office, California.
“Ramaraju, who moved out of state after divorcing the boy’s father in 2018, was staying with her son at the La Quinta Inn, in the 2700 block of Hotel Terrace, in Santa Ana for a custody visit. During the visit, she bought three-day passes to Disneyland for herself and her son,” the statement read.
On March 19, when she was due to return her son to his father and check out, Ramaraju contacted emergency services at 9.12 am, confessing to killing her son and attempting suicide through pill consumption.
Police discovered the deceased boy in the motel room surrounded by Disneyland merchandise. Evidence suggested the child had been deceased for hours before the emergency call. A kitchen knife, purchased the previous day, was found in the room. After hospital treatment for ingesting unknown substances, Ramaraju was arrested on Thursday.
“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 makes 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 their son in love, she slit his throat and in the cruelest twist of fate removed him from the very world she brought him into.”
The deceased child was identified as Yatin Ramaraju by NBC Los Angeles. The report revealed ongoing custody disputes between Saritha Ramaraju and Prakash Raju since the previous year. She had claimed he made unilateral decisions regarding medical care and schooling, also alleging substance abuse issues.
Court documents showed Prakash Raju originated from Bengaluru, India. Following their January 2018 divorce, he received custody while she maintained visitation rights.