Mom of 9-Year-Old Boy with Autism Allegedly Abducted and Killed, Now Charged in Her Son’s Murder
Patricia Ripley, a mother from Florida was indicted for her child's murder. She told the police that Alejandro, her son, a nonverbal nine-year-old with autism was kidnaped from Home Depot's parking in Miami.
Reports said, Ripley was taken late Friday night into custody, and indicted with "first-degree murder and premeditated murder" for her son's death. The nonverbal boy was found lifeless Friday morning, several hours after the "Amber Alert," and launching an intensive search for him.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, they are very sad to announce that "the child was found dead."
Katherine Fernandez Rundle, the Miami-Dade State Attorney said, police were able to obtain a video,showing Ripley pushing the nine-year-old into a canal Thursday night, at around 7:30 p.m.
Screaming Heard
Based on the police report, after residents heard screaming, they found the boy and eventually, rescued him. About an hour after, Ripley headed to a different canal, and unfortunately this time, she said, no one was there to save him.
The state attorney also shared the death of the nine-year-old boy, as a tragic loss of life, not to mention, "Loss of any young life," has left all of them grieving. The senseless death of the boy, she added, "will stay with all of us."
Ripley's defense was that she told the investigating police, that they were followed and ambushed on Thursday evening, at a parking lot of Home Depot, by two men riding a vehicle who, she claimed, demanded drugs.
In a statement, police indicated that the driver of an unidentified vehicle tried to "side-swipe her vehicle," then, it reportedly blocked her while "a male passenger ambushed her, and demanded drugs."
According to Ripley, she explained to the men that she did not have any drugs. After that, she said, the men stole her mobile phone and kidnapped her son.
The surveillance video, according to Fernandez Rundle, showed the parking lot with Ripley sitting in her car for around 15 minutes before the alleged kidnapping was reported.
Meanwhile, according to the Miami-Dade police, the boy's body was discovered around four miles from where Alejandro was allegedly abducted.
Mother's Lie about the Kidnapping
Fernandez Rundle also said Ripley lied about her son's abduction. She added detectives found a video that showed her pushing Alejandro into a canal, specifically at "103rd Avenue and Kendall Drive."
As earlier mentioned, Fernandez Rundle also said, according to witnesses, they were able to rescue the boy the first time.
However, the next crime scene was shown at a different canal, this time, located at the Southwest 62nd Street and 13th Court.
When Ripley appeared in court in Miami-Dade, reports said, Aldo Ripley, Alejandro's father, was also there and seen in tears.
Meanwhile, Antoinette Uribe, who said she knew the Ripley family since her son and Alejandro "were both patients at the My Kid Therapy Center," located in Country Walk. Uribe described the boy as "the world to his parents."
While the case is still being investigated, Uribe, and others who were at the memorial, reports said, were convinced that the two men the Ripley was referring to in her statement, were the ones who abducted and killed Alejandro.
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