A 48-year-old Irvine woman accused of stabbing her 11-year-old son to death at a Santa Ana hotel Wednesday had been living off and on there with the boy for several weeks, police said.
The boy's body was discovered inside one of the hotel rooms at the La Quinta Inn on 2721 Hotel Terrace when police responded to a 911 call made by the mother, Saritha Ramaraju, 48, of Irvine, around 9:30 a.m.
“During the 911 call, it’s believed that the mother stated that she had killed her son and that she had ingested some sort of substance," Santa Ana Police Department Officer Natalie Garcia said.
Hotel Guest Alyssah Witherell recalled hearing something strange before officers arrived.
“We heard the banging and something hit the wall. It sounded like something hit the floor really hard, and we heard like a short yell but that was it,” Witherell said.
When officers arrived, it was already too late to save the boy.
“Our officers searched the room where mother and 11-year-old boy were staying and they find, sadly, the 11-year-old boy on the bed with multiple stab wounds on his body,” Garcia said.
The unidentified boy was pronounced dead at the scene. His mother, Ramaraju, was taken into custody but had to be transported to a local hospital. Investigators believe she had taken about two dozen over-the-counter pills in a possible failed suicide attempt.
On Thursday, Ramaraju was discharged from the hospital and booked into the Santa Ana Jail on charges of murder, child endangerment, torture and aggravated mayhem.
Anyone with additional information is urged to call SAPD Homicide Detectives at 714-245-8390 or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.