A tragic custody visit ended in horror after a mother allegedly murdered her 11-year-old son at a motel in Santa Ana following a trip to Disneyland.
Santa Ana Police arrested&nbsp;Saritha Ramaraju, 48, of Irvine, on multiple felony charges, including&nbsp;murder, child endangerment, torture, and aggravated mayhem.&nbsp;According to authorities, Ramaraju called 911 on Wednesday, March 19, reporting that she had killed her son and ingested pills in an attempt to take her own life.
Gruesome Discovery at the La Quinta Inn &amp; Suites
Santa Ana Police officers arrived at the La Quinta Inn &amp; Suites at approximately 9:12 a.m., where they found Ramaraju in the hotel hallway with&nbsp;blood on her hands. Inside the room, officers discovered the lifeless body of her 11-year-old son lying on the bed&nbsp;surrounded by Disneyland souvenirs. His throat had been slit, and authorities believe he had been dead for several hours before the emergency call was made. A&nbsp;large kitchen knife, allegedly purchased by Ramaraju a day earlier, was recovered at the scene.
Homicide detectives from the&nbsp;Santa Ana Police Department (SAPD)&nbsp;confirmed that the Orange County Fire Authority pronounced the child deceased upon arrival. Ramaraju was transported to a local hospital for evaluation before being booked into the&nbsp;Santa Ana City Jail&nbsp;on Thursday, March 20.
Custody Visit Turns Deadly
Prosecutors revealed that Ramaraju had been living out of state since her divorce in 2018. She had been granted a&nbsp;custody visitation&nbsp;and had planned a three-day trip to Disneyland with her son. On Wednesday, the day she was due to return him to his father, she instead&nbsp;stabbed the boy to death&nbsp;inside their hotel room.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer&nbsp;condemned the brutal act, stating,&nbsp;&ldquo;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. Instead of wrapping her arms around her son in love, she slit his throat and, in the cruelest twist of fate, removed him from the very world she brought him into.&rdquo;
Investigation &amp; Legal Proceedings
Authorities have confirmed that&nbsp;body-worn camera footage&nbsp;captured the moment officers detained Ramaraju. A female officer can be heard stating,&nbsp;&ldquo;She has blood on her hands,&rdquo;&nbsp;as she placed Ramaraju in handcuffs.
The Orange County District Attorney&rsquo;s Office has charged Ramaraju with&nbsp;one felony count of murder and an enhancement for personal use of a weapon. If convicted, she faces&nbsp;a maximum sentence of 26 years to life in prison. She is expected to appear in court on&nbsp;April 17.
SAPD detectives continue to investigate and are seeking additional witnesses. Anyone with information is urged to contact SAPD Homicide Section Detectives at&nbsp;(714) 245-8390&nbsp;or Orange County Crime Stoppers at&nbsp;1-855-TIP-OCCS.
link of Santa Ana Police Department
https://x.com/SantaAnaPD/status/1902832509496463812

La Quinta Inn & Suites in Santa Ana and accused mother Saritha Ramaraju

Santa Ana Police arrest mother for stabbing son to death in motel after Disneyland trip

Mother Arrested for Killing 11-Year-Old Son in Santa Ana

Santa Ana Police arrest mother for stabbing son to death in motel after Disneyland trip

March 23, 2025 | 11:03 IST