SANTA ANA, Calif. (FN) — A Southern California mother has been charged with murder after authorities say she fatally stabbed her 9-year-old son inside a Santa Ana hotel room just hours after the pair returned from a three-day trip to Disneyland.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Saritha Ramaraju, 48, with one felony count of murder and a felony enhancement for the personal use of a deadly weapon. If convicted, she faces up to 26 years to life in state prison, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office said.
Santa Ana police were called to the La Quinta Inn & Suites shortly after 9 a.m. on March 19 after Ramaraju phoned 911 and reported that she had harmed her child. Officers forced entry into the hotel room, where they found the boy, identified by authorities as Yatin Ramaraju, dead with multiple stab wounds. A large kitchen knife, believed to have been purchased the day before, was recovered at the scene.
Police said the child’s body was found on the bed surrounded by Disneyland souvenirs, items the pair had bought during their trip. Detectives believe the boy had been dead for several hours before the 911 call was made.
Ramaraju was taken to a hospital after telling officers she had ingested pills in an apparent attempt to harm herself. She was later released and booked into jail, authorities said.
The killing occurred during a court-ordered visitation. According to court records, Ramaraju and the boy’s father divorced in 2018, and the father had been granted primary custody. The custody arrangement had been the subject of ongoing disputes, with Ramaraju alleging she was excluded from decisions regarding her son’s upbringing. The father denied the allegations.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer called the case “an unimaginable loss.”
“The life of a child should never be caught in the middle of conflict between parents,” Spitzer said in a statement. “This is a tragedy that should never have happened.”
Authorities have not released a possible motive. Ramaraju is being held without bail. A court date has not yet been scheduled.
