Mother Killed 17-Month-Old Son Because She Felt He Was Getting In Way Of Her Affair, Prosecutors Say

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS/AP) — Prosecutors say a Camden County mother killed her toddler son because she felt he was getting in the way of her extramarital affair. The allegation came Wednesday during a detention hearing for Heather Reynolds.

The 41-year-old Gloucester Township resident is charged with murder and child endangerment in the boy's May 2018 death.

Prosecutors say Heather Reynolds suffocated her 17-month-old son, Axel, by holding a cleansing wipe over his nose and mouth. But her attorney argued that she had nothing to do with the death.

A judge eventually ruled that Reynolds will remain jailed until her trial, noting she faces a possible life sentence.

Officials have said Reynolds ran from her home, holding her unresponsive child in her arms, and screamed for help from her neighbors. Emergency crews soon found the boy on the lawn of his family's home.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)