logo
Mother charged with murder for allegedly killing 11-year-old son in Santa Ana hotel

Mother charged with murder for allegedly killing 11-year-old son in Santa Ana hotel

CBS News21-03-2025
A 48-year-old woman accused of killing her 11-year-old son in a Santa Ana hotel room has been charged with murder, prosecutors said Friday.
Saritha Ramaraju, who lived out of state after divorcing the boy's father in 2018, was staying with her son at the La Quinta Inn for a custody visit when
she allegedly killed him Wednesday morning
.
Police said they responded to a 911 call at the hotel around 9:15 a.m., made by Ramaraju, stating that she murdered her son, Yatin Ramaraju.
Sgt. Natalie Garcia said at the time, it appeared the boy was stabbed with a knife, which was recovered by police at the scene.
Ramaraju also told police she had taken pills, so she was taken into custody and transported to a hospital.
Prosecutors said Ramaraju had bought three-day Disneyland passes during her custody visit. The boy was scheduled to be returned to his father that day but "was instead found by police that morning dead on the motel room's bed among Disneyland souvenirs."
The boy's father and Ramaraju had been in a custody battle since last year. She had been living in Virginia and was granted visitation with her son during spring break from Friday through Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Ramaraju has been charged with one felony count of murder and one felony enhancement of personal use of a weapon, a knife. She faces a maximum sentence of 26 years to life if convicted on all charges.
"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," said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Creepy, Dark, And Seriously Messed-Up Things I Learned This Week
Creepy, Dark, And Seriously Messed-Up Things I Learned This Week

Buzz Feed

time2 hours ago

  • Buzz Feed

Creepy, Dark, And Seriously Messed-Up Things I Learned This Week

Hello! I'm Crystal, and I write the That Got Dark newsletter, BuzzFeed's weekly roundup of all things creepy, macabre, and horrible AF. And if you looooove this kind of content, you should subscribe to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox! Here's what the newsletter is covering this week: The 1987 sleepwalking murder case of Kenneth Parks in Toronto, Canada. One night, ALL while sleepwalking, Parks got out of bed and drove almost 15 miles from his home, where he killed his mother-in-law, then attempted to kill his father-in-law. Parks, who said he was unconscious through the whole ordeal, had entered his in-laws' home with a key he'd been given in the past. He bludgeoned his mother-in-law to death with a tire iron, then attempted to choke his father-in-law to death, who miraculously survived the attack. In an extra surprising twist, Parks then drove straight to a police station (still covered in blood), and told the cops, 'I think I have just killed two people.' Parks would even go on to say he was fast asleep when he surrendered. A year later, he was acquitted of murder and attempted murder using a rare legal defense known as 'non-insane automatism,' supported by evidence of parasomnia (a sleep disorder). The existence of Heritage USA, a massive Christian theme park and resort complex in Fort Mill, South Carolina, that was built in 1978 by televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. At its peak, Heritage USA drew 5–6 million visitors annually, billing itself as the third most-visited park in the US and being called a "Christian Disneyland." It closed in 1989 after a major financial scandal, the loss of its tax-exempt status, and damage from Hurricane Hugo. Today, some structures remain, with parts repurposed by a church ministry, but nearly everyone who's seen it since says its abandoned state and sketchy history make it very creepy. Above is "Praise the Lord" board chairman Rev. Jerry Falwell sliding down the 52-foot water slide at Heritage USA. And here's what one Buzzfeed Community member had to say about their IRL experience with the eerie theme park: 'In the mid-'80s, my brother returned to school as a journalism major at the University of South Carolina. One of his assignments was to write a story about the newly opened theme park. So, one weekend, off he went. He later told me that the whole time he was there, he felt like he had to keep looking over his shoulder because he felt like a couple of guys were going to come up behind him, grab him, and say, 'You don't belong here.' Wish he was still here to tell the story himself.' —Anonymous The horrible case of Genie, a 13-year-old feral child who was discovered in Arcadia, California, in 1970 after years of horrific abuse. Genie (which was a pseudonym) was discovered after being brutally isolated and starved, strapped either to a potty chair or a crib, and forbidden to speak by her abusive father for almost her entire life. Her treatment had been so bad, it resulted in severe physical and linguistic deprivation. She was subsequently placed under intensive study and gained some vocabulary and basic communication skills, but failed to acquire normal grammar. Genie's case became known as one of the "worst cases of child abuse" in the US, and ultimately raised ethical concerns about the treatment of vulnerable subjects and their rights. The tragic death of actor Angus Cloud, who died of an accidental drug overdose — a lethal mix of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, and benzodiazepines — on July 31, 2023, in his family's home in Oakland, California. Cloud had reportedly been staying with his mother following the death of his father in May. In an interview with People, Cloud's mother, Lisa, said that she found her son in the morning slumped over his desk. She tried to resuscitate him, but by the time first responders arrived, it was too late, and they later determined Cloud had already been deceased by the time they'd even been dispatched. Lisa explained to People, "He got tired from lack of oxygen. Everything just slowed down, and eventually his heart stopped and he went to sleep. But he didn't kill himself.' Finally, the case of gruesome serial killer William Bonin, known as the 'Freeway Killer,' who raped and murdered at least 21 teenage boys and young men in Southern California between 1979 and 1980. Bonin would lure victims into his van, often with help from accomplices, then assault and kill them, dumping their bodies along freeways. Caught in 1980, he was convicted of 14 murders and died by lethal injection in 1996 — California's first to be carried out by that method. His last meal: Two large pepperoni and sausage pizzas, three pints of coffee ice cream, and three six-packs of Coca-Cola. I think that's just about enough unsettling stuff for the week, don't you? In the next issue, we'll tackle the story of the 'Twitter Killer' and the infamous murder of Sharon Tate. Love this kind of content? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get a weekly post just like this delivered directly to your inbox. It's a scary good time you won't want to miss. Do you have a weird, creepy, or shocking story you want to share? Perhaps there's a strange Wikipedia page you want to talk about? Tell me all about it at thatgotdark@ and who knows, maybe it'll be featured in a future edition of That Got Dark!

British man charged over Disneyland ‘wedding' with 9-year-old girl is a known pedophile wanted in UK: authorities
British man charged over Disneyland ‘wedding' with 9-year-old girl is a known pedophile wanted in UK: authorities

New York Post

time24-06-2025

  • New York Post

British man charged over Disneyland ‘wedding' with 9-year-old girl is a known pedophile wanted in UK: authorities

A British man arrested for allegedly trying to marry a 9-year-old girl at Disneyland Paris for a sick social media stunt is a known pedophile wanted by UK authorities, prosecutors said. The 39-year-old man — who was slapped with a slew of charges Tuesday over what may have been a sick social media stunt — has previously been convicted of child sex offenses in the UK, Agence France-Presse reported. The British national, whose identity is being withheld due to legal reasons, is currently 'wanted in his country for failing to comply with the obligations of the British sex offenders register,' Jean-Baptiste Bladier, the Meaux prosecutor, said. 5 Disneyland Paris was used for a fake wedding between a 9-year-old girl and an adult man. BFM TV Details of his rap sheet emerged after authorities nabbed him for allegedly posing as the 'groom' during the wedding ceremony at the popular amusement park on Saturday. Authorities said the park had been booked out for the wedding — at a reported cost of $150,000 — but concerned Disneyland employees quickly pulled the pin when they realized the 'bride' was a 9-year-old Ukrainian girl. The 'scared and confused' little girl was spotted wearing a wedding dress and 5-inch heels 'taped to her feet' when she showed up to the park, Le Parisien reported. Authorities later believed the wedding was a stunt being filmed for social media. 5 A string quartet and hundreds of extras were hired for the vile stunt. BFM TV 5 The extras had no idea they had been hired for a sick stunt. BFM TV The British 'groom' was arrested alongside a 24-year-old Latvian woman posing as the bride's sister, the little girl's 41-year-old mom and a 55-year-old Latvian man who was recruited to be involved in the ceremony, authorities said. The fake groom and his co-conspirators had allegedly blasted out an online ad in the lead up to recruit wedding guests to take part in the stunt — including 200 adults and 100 children between the ages 5 and 15. The hired guests were allegedly told they were being paid to take part in a high-end wedding rehearsal. 'We all thought we were going to attend a wedding … Everyone was stunned, no one expected it,' one of the hired extras told the French outlet. 5 The park was hired out before it had opened to the public on Saturday. BFM TV 5 Disneyland Paris has been praised for quickly alerting police upon realizing the bride was a child. Prosecutors said the Ukrainian child, who had only just arrived in France prior to the saga, wasn't subjected to any violence as a result of the twisted ordeal. 'The investigations, including the medical examination of the minor, a Ukrainian national, showed that she had not been subjected to any violence or coercive acts,' the prosecutor's office said. Disneyland Paris acknowledged they accepted payment for the event but 'immediately cancelled' it when the 'identification of significant irregularities' came to light. The British man, who remains in custody, has been charged with fraud, breach of trust, money laundering and identity theft.

No evidence of ICE agents at Disneyland, but footage indicates nearby activity
No evidence of ICE agents at Disneyland, but footage indicates nearby activity

Yahoo

time23-06-2025

  • Yahoo

No evidence of ICE agents at Disneyland, but footage indicates nearby activity

Following Snopes' initial reporting about rumors of ICE raids at Disneyland in spring 2025, new claims emerged related to possible federal activity at a park just miles away. The original claims came in the aftermath of unrest in parts of Los Angeles over the Trump administration's immigration policies, which resulted in clashes between protesters and federal agents in June 2025, with alleged eyewitness reports claiming ICE agents were seen stopping people outside nearby Disneyland. The rumor appeared to originate on Facebook (archived, archived), but spread more widely via a Reddit post (archived) on June 11, 2025, which gained more than 5,000 upvotes. The rumor also appeared on other platforms such as X (archived) and Bluesky (archived), and numerous Snopes readers searched for information about the claim. ICE Supposedly Stopping People at Dinseylandbyu/canOair inDisneyland "Received this from a friend. Others have supposedly seen it too. ICE stopping people leaving the Manchester CM Lot and at the bus stops," the Reddit post read. We reached out to the account that posted the claim and will update this report if we receive a response. Several commenters appeared to corroborate the report. For example, one user wrote, "I just left the resort and there's a bunch of them by the employee parking near Mickey and Friends." We looked into the claims and found that despite these alleged sightings, none of the users posted photos, video footage or other tangible evidence of ICE's alleged presence at Disneyland or near employee parking. Additionally, no credible news outlet reported an ICE presence in or around Disneyland. A straightforward Google search on June 12, 2025, using the keywords "ICE agents at Disneyland," turned up no credible news reports, only iterations of the rumor or claims that the rumor was false. ( Lastly, shortly after the rumor began to spread online, the Orange County Rapid Response Network (OCRRN) claimed to be in direct contact with Disney's External Affairs team, which reported that "there is no ICE presence at the resort" (archived). The full report was as follows: Community Update: 06/11 No ICE Presence at Disney Resort We have been in direct contact with Disney's External Affairs team regarding recent rumors about ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) activity at their resort. Disney has confirmed there is no ICE presence at the resort. Disney received multiple reports throughout the day. This is what they shared: "We can confirm that is not the case. We've gotten multiple reports through the day, but we checked them all and can report that there is no ICE presence at the resort." According to the network's About page, the OCRRN is "an interconnected system of non-profit and grassroots organizations, civil rights attorneys, law school clinics, and individuals working together to respond to dehumanizing immigration enforcement activities and policies in Orange County." The OCRRN confirmed via a phone call on June 12 that there were no additional updates, and that the network had been unable to find any visual evidence of the claims. We additionally reached out to both Disney and ICE representatives and will update this story if we receive a response. However, after we originally published this story on June 12, 2025, the OCRRN released a community alert noting "reliable reports" of "probable ICE actions in the greater Disneyland area, around Anaheim and Garden Grove." So although there was no available evidence of an ICE presence on the Disneyland campus, there was evidence of probable ICE activity on June 12, 2025, at nearby Pearson Park, which is approximately a six-minute drive from Disneyland. (Google Maps) An Instagram video (archived) from June 12 shows federal agents chasing a man by car as he ran. The caption reads: I wanted to share something that happened around 8:30 am at Pearson Park. It's a concerning situation, and while we can't confirm whether it involves immigration customs enforcement, it's important to acknowledge the stress and uncertainty that such incidents can cause. A zoomed-in capture of the video shows an individual running with a vest that appears to say "POLICE FEDERAL AGENT." (Instagram user @anaheimchisme) Several users across multiple platforms, including Facebook and X (archived, archived), claimed ICE was "outside" Disneyland, while at least one X user (archived) claimed ICE was "literally in front of Disneyland." A story (archived) by the Daily Pilot – a Los Angeles Times daily newspaper for Orange County – claimed, "While Disney and Anaheim officials disputed the viral claim as unfounded, the city acknowledged cellphone videos of an SUV pursuing a man two miles down the street at Pearson Park the following morning was credible evidence of federal immigration enforcement." The Daily Pilot interviewed Anaheim Council Member Natalie Rubalcava, who investigated the scene shortly after the video above appeared on Instagram. We reached out to Rubalcava, and will update this story if we receive a response. Rubalcava told the Pilot a man told her federal agents had asked him and another man he was with to show their identification, after which the other man fled and the chase caught on tape ensued, as follows in the Daily Pilot story: Anaheim Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava saw the Pearson Park video on Instagram, got dressed and headed out to vet the claim. She spoke to a young Latino who recounted how federal agents dressed in black with their faces covered approached him and another man at the park. "They asked him for identification," Rubalcava said. "When he told them he was born in the U.S., they told him 'prove it.'" He gave agents his Social Security number when the other man fled on foot. Agents driving an SUV gave chase, apprehended the man and left by the time Rubalcava arrived. In sum, while there remained no evidence of ICE presence on the Disneyland campus or at employee parking areas as of this writing, footage did come to light indicating an SUV and at least one individual wearing a vest labeled "federal agent" pursuing a man on foot at a park approximately 2 miles from the Disneyland campus. Anaheim, HERE. ICE Activity Disneyland Concerns Recap. 13 June 2025, Council Member Natalie Rubalcava | Anaheim, CA - Official Website. Accessed 17 June 2025. Google Search. Accessed 12 June 2025 'ICE Didn't Raid Disneyland but Federal Agents Arrested a Man at a Nearby Park'. Daily Pilot, 12 June 2025, Instagram. Accessed 17 June 2025. OC Rapid Response Network. Accessed 12 June 2025.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store