Police have arrested a woman whose 7-year-old son was found in Nevada late last month, and she is awaiting extradition after fleeing the state.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, 35-year-old Samantha Moreno Rodriguez was taken into custody in Denver, Colorado, with the help of an FBI task force. The day before, police announced she was a suspect in the death of her 7-year-old son, whose body was found by hikers on a trail near Las Vegas two weeks ago. Police had sought the public’s help in identifying the little boy, and positively identified him this week as Liam Husted of San Jose, California.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, a friend of Rodriguez’s called police in San Jose after seeing the alerts about the child found dead in California. The friend reportedly told police that Rodriguez and her son had not been seen since late May, and expressed concern that the dead child could be Liam.
An investigation found that Liam and his mother were left San Jose on May 24 and were traveling in Laguna Beach, California, on May 26, two days before hikers found the boy’s body. On May 31, Rodriguez reportedly checked into a hotel alone in Denver on May 31.
Authorities have not yet shared further details of Rodriguez’s arrest or the boy’s cause of death. It is also not yet known what evidence they have to suspect Rodriguez killed her son.
CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.
