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

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.