The boy’s cause of death will be determined by an autopsy, according to the district attorney.
A Pennsylvania woman was arrested in New Jersey after her 11-year-old son was found dead by his father, according to reports.
Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead of Horsham, Pennsylvania, was arrested Tuesday in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, just after officials in nearby Cape May, New Jersey, found her SUV partially submerged in the ocean off Beach Avenue, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Hours before her arrest, her son, Matthew, 11, was found dead around 7 a.m. by his father inside the family’s Horsham Township home, according to NJ.com.
On Wednesday, the DA announced that the autopsy revealed that the boy's cause of death was strangulation, according to ABC 6.
DiRienzo-Whitehead reportedly told detectives her son had been "crying off and on all day over the family's financial difficulties,” according to an affidavit obtained by ABC 6.
She allegedly told detectives she did not want her son to grow up "with these struggles" so she strangled him with her husband's belt as he slept, according to the affidavit obtained by ABC 6.
Investigators say DiRienzo-Whitehead killed Matthew after he went to sleep around 9:30 p.m. Monday, then drove the family's SUV the 120 miles from their home to Cape May, according to ABC 6.
Investigators added that she drove the vehicle into the ocean and once the vehicle could no longer be used she walked to Wildwood Crest, ABC 6 reported.
DiRienzo-Whitehead is currently in a New Jersey jail awaiting extradition to Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
DiRienzo-Whitehead was charged Wednesday with first degree homicide, according to ABC 6.
It remains unclear if she has obtained legal representation.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said that a joint investigation into the boy’s death has been launched by Montgomery County detectives and Horsham Police.
Inside Edition Digital has reached out to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office for comment on this case and has not heard back.
