Mother Pleads Guilty To 2012 Murder Of 4-Year-Old Son
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) - A New York woman accused of suffocating her 4-year-old son has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
The Westchester County district attorney's office says 48-year-old Manuela Maria Morgado agreed Thursday to a sentence of 20 years to life. Her trial was to begin next month.
Morgado was arrested in 2012 after police found her with the body of her son, Jason Reish, in their Mamaroneck condo. She had apparently used helium and a pillow to suffocate him.
Police said Morgado was semi-conscious and may have tried to kill herself with a drug overdose.
The boy's parents, who never married and lived apart, had battled over where he should attend preschool. The district attorney said the killing was the mother's misguided attempt to keep the father out of their lives.
Sources told CBS 2 that Morgado and the boy's father, prominent Manhattan doctor Timothy Reish, were involved in a well-known custody dispute over their son.
But neighbors said they never imagined it could turn so tragic.
"He would meet the child out front but there was never any harsh words," said neighbor Andrew Landau.
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