Mother faces execution for ‘drowning autistic son, 9, in canal’
Patricia Ripley is accused of drowning her autistic son Alejandro Ripley in a canal.
A mother is facing the death penalty for allegedly drowning her 9-year-old autistic son in a canal.
Prosecutors said Thursday that they will push for Patricia Ripley to be executed if she is convicted of killing her son Alejandro in Miami in May. is charged with first-degree murder in Miami, Florida after being accused of killing Alejandro Ripley in May.
The mother was caught on camera pushing the boy, who cannot speak due to his severe autism, into a canal.
Alejandro was initially rescued by a bystander, detectives said, but about an hour later, Ripley pushed her son into the canal again, where he drowned.
She can be seen in the video taking the boy by the arms, going very close to the edge, pushing him into the canal and then running away.
Ripley first told police that two black men had kidnapped her son and the state issued an amber alert, the Miami Herald reported.
However, police confronted the mother about it, and she later admitted that she led the boy to the canal, saying ‘he’s going to be in a better place,’ documents said.
Ripley remains jailed while awaiting trial, and has not physically been in the courthouse due to Covid limitations.
She pleaded not guilty, and another hearing is set for next week.
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