Indian-Origin Woman Charged with Murder of 11-Year-Old Son After Disneyland Trip
A woman of Indian descent has been charged with the alleged murder of her 11-year-old son following a three-day trip to Disneyland. Saritha Ramaraju, 48, faces one felony count of murder for reportedly slitting her son’s throat during a custody visit, along with an additional felony charge for using a knife in the crime. According to a statement released Friday by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office in California, a conviction on all charges could result in a sentence of up to 26 years to life in prison.
Ramaraju had moved out of California following her 2018 divorce from the boy’s father and was staying at a Santa Ana motel with her son for a scheduled custody visit. During their stay, she purchased three-day passes to Disneyland for herself and her son. On March 19—the day she was due to check out of the motel and return the boy to his father—Ramaraju dialed 911 at 9:12 a.m., admitting she had killed her son and attempted suicide by ingesting pills.
Santa Ana police responded to the motel and discovered the boy’s body on a bed, surrounded by Disneyland souvenirs. Authorities noted that the boy appeared to have been dead for several hours before the emergency call was made. He was set to be returned to his father’s custody that day. Inside the room, police found a large kitchen knife, purchased the previous day. Ramaraju was hospitalized for ingesting an unknown substance, released on Thursday, and subsequently arrested on suspicion of stabbing her son to death.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer condemned the incident, stating, “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.” He added, “Anger makes you forget who you love and what you are responsible for doing. The safest place for a child should be in their parents’ arms. Instead of wrapping her arms around their son in love, she slit his throat and in the cruelest twist of fate removed him from the very world she brought him into.”
The official statement did not disclose the boy’s identity, but a report from NBC Los Angeles identified him as Yatin Ramaraju. The outlet also detailed an ongoing custody dispute between Saritha Ramaraju and her ex-husband, Prakash Raju, which began the previous year. Saritha had accused Prakash of making unilateral medical and educational decisions for their son and claimed he had substance abuse problems.
Court records cited by NBC Los Angeles show that Prakash Raju, originally from Bengaluru, India, and Saritha Ramaraju divorced in January 2018. Raju was granted custody of their son, while Ramaraju received visitation rights. By November, court filings indicated that Ramaraju was living in Fairfax, Virginia, and sought to have her son reside with her.
In those filings, Ramaraju alleged her ex-husband had a “history of substance abuse issues,” claiming he “gets very aggressive under the influence of alcohol, drugs and smoke.” She further accused him of “severe control issues” and said their son “is very scared to talk to mother as he’ll get into trouble with dad.” Prakash Raju, in turn, dismissed her accusations as “completely false and untrue,” according to the NBC Los Angeles report.
(With PTI Inputs)