Horrific moment ‘killer’ mother hurls autistic son, 9, into canal
Patricia Riple allegedly became overwhelmed while caring for Alejandro, who suffered from severe autism and could not speak.
Horrific footage shows the moment a mother accused of drowning her autistic 9-year-old son hurled the boy into a canal.
The incident seen in the disturbing video was allegedly Patricia Ripley’s first attempt to drown her son, Alejandro, in Miami, Florida. The boy was rescued by a bystander, but his mother shoved him into another canal where he ultimately died an hour later.
Footage from Ripley’s first alleged attempt to kill her son, which was obtained and aired by Univision’s national news network, shows Ripley walking her son to the edge of a canal in West Kendall. She is seen looking around and stroking her son’s head before hurling him into the water.
Afterwards, Ripley runs out of sight of the camera, but returns about 20 seconds later with a bystander who saw the incident and rushed to rescue Alejandro.
Following Alejandro’s death, Ripley reportedly told Miami-Dade police that two black men kidnapped her son after running her off the road.
However, the newly obtained video will likely be used as key evidence in the cases against Ripley, who is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Investigators said they believe Ripley, a mother of two, became overwhelmed while caring for Alejandro, who suffered from severe autism and could not speak.
Ripley originally reported Alejandro missing on Thursday night and said he was taken at knife point by two black men who demanded drugs at knife-point and robbed her of her cellphone and tablet.
An Amber alert was issued for the boy, but police reportedly became suspicious after Ripley repeatedly changed her story. Alejandro’s body was found in a canal on Friday morning.
Police later discovered video from Ripley’s first alleged attempt to drown her child and surveillance footage from a Home Depot, which shows Ripley in her car without her son for 20 minutes before she called police.
Ripley was interviewed and confronted with the footage and she later admitted she fabricated the kidnapping story. She reportedly confessed to the killing eventually and told police that her son is ‘going to be in a better place.’
Ripley is being held on murder and attempted murder charges and faces the death penalty if convicted.
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