TRIAL BEGINS FOR MOM CHARGED WITH STRANGLING 11-YEAR-OLD SON IN HORSHAM, PA BEFORE DRIVING TO NEW JERSEY

Ruth Dirienzo-Whitehead, a woman from Horsham, Pennsylvania, is on trial for the murder of her 11-year-old son, whom she allegedly strangled in April 2023. She confessed to the crime, citing financial troubles as her motive. She drove the family's SUV to the Jersey shore afterward.

The trial, which is a bench trial rather than a jury trial, began with testimony from the child's father, Daniel Whitehead. Dirienzo-Whitehead is asserting an insanity defense, and expert testimonies are expected from both sides.