Mom who said a psychotic break caused her to strangle her son with a belt convicted of murder after prosecutors say she did it to spite her husband

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead murdered her son, Matthew Whitehead, a judge determined. (Mug shot: Montgomery County District Attorney

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead murdered her son, Matthew Whitehead, a judge determined. (Mug shot: Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)

A Pennsylvania judge did not buy a mother’s mental health defense, instead convicting her on Thursday of murdering her 11-year-old son.

Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, strangled young Matthew Whitehead by using his father’s belt at their home in Horsham Township on April 10, 2023. She then took her Toyota Highlander SUV some 120 miles south to the shoreline of Cape May, New Jersey, leaving it partially submerged. She was arrested in nearby Wildwood Crest, also on the Jersey Shore.

Her ostensible motive at the time: She did not want Matthew to grow up with money problems.

You May Also Like

‘Muzzling the Executive’: Trump admin says order targeting Hillary Clinton-linked law firm is ‘straightforwardly legal’ in seeking dismissal of lawsuit

Left: President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Capitol…

‘Egregiously unqualified political hack’: Former US attorneys eviscerate Ed Martin — with over 100 voicing opposition to Trump’s selection of him as DC’s top prosecutor

FILE – Ed Martin speaks at an event hosted by Rep. Matt…

‘This is how we treat seizures in Walker County’: Deputy stomped the genitals of a mentally ill inmate who later died of complications from injury

Background: News coverage of video of Anthony Mitchell in custody (WBRC). Inset…

Rapist who filmed himself attacking woman in park before sending clips to others is jailed for six years

Subscribe to The Crime Desk, the Mail’s new true crime podcast network.…