Indian origin woman kills son in US, was fighting for his custody

NEW YORK: An Indian-origin woman has been charged with allegedly murdering her 11-year-old son after a three-day vacation to Disneyland.

Saritha Ramaraju, 48, has been charged with one felony count of murder for slitting her son's throat during a custody visit. She has also been charged with one felony enhancement of personal use of a weapon, a knife. She faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life if convicted on all charges, a statement from office of district attorney, Orange County, California said.

Ramaraju, who moved out of California after divorcing the boy's father in 2018, was staying with her son at a motel in Santa Ana for a custody visit. During the visit, she bought three-day passes to Disneyland for herself and her son. On March 19, the day Ramaraju was scheduled to check out of the motel and return the boy to his father, she called 911 to report that she had killed her son and taken pills to kill herself. Police found the young boy dead on the bed in a room among Disneyland souvenirs. It appeared the boy had been dead for several hours before his mother called 911.

Ramaraju was released from hospital on Thursday after ingesting the unknown substance and arrested on suspicion of stabbing the boy to death.

A report said Ramaraju had been in a custody battle with her husband Prakash Raju since last year, when she had accused him of making medical and school decisions without her input and alleged he had substance abuse issues. Prakash Raju had said in court papers that he was born and raised in Bengaluru, an NBC report said.