Mom who killed 7-year-old autistic son held accountable

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A mother who killed her 7-year-old autistic son last year was sentenced to 28 years to life in prison Thursday morning.

Samantha Moreno-Rodriguez, 36, pleaded guilty to charges of murder and child abuse, neglect or endangerment resulting in substantial bodily harm earlier this year.

She received a sentence of 28 years to life for murder and a sentence of 8 to 20 years for child abuse resulting in substantial bodily harm. The two sentences will be served consecutively, and she will be eligible for parole after serving her minimum 28 years.

She killed her son, Liam Husted, and dumped his naked body near a trail in Mountain Springs near Las Vegas. Husted was found by hikers several feet off the trail behind a bush on May 28, 2021, investigators said.

Investigators believe that Moreno-Rodriguez and Liam had been hiking on the trail when she pushed him, causing him to fall and hit his head.

he later told investigators “that she also fell during this process and then after Liam fell and hit his head and started screaming, top of his lungs, louder than she had ever heard him scream before, and she wasn’t sure how to stop him from crying.”

She then strangled and killed him before removing his clothes, a prosecutor told a grand jury.

“Samantha indicated that she had watched television crime shows and thought that by removing his clothing, it would make it more difficult to associate him with her after she left the area,” the investigator said.