Woman accused of killing her 7-year-old son could have Central Coast ties
A San Jose mother who may have grown up on the Central Coast has been arrested and charged with murdering her 7-year-old son while in Nevada.
“While the outcome is heartbreaking there's a sense of closure that Liam Husted will no longer be referred to as a John Doe,” said FBI special agent, Jeremy Schwartz.
Liam’s mother Samantha Moreno-Rodriguez was arrested early Tuesday morning at a Denver area motel.
“We should have a better idea on motive once the investigation continues we're in Denver right now still following up on a lot of those leads,” said Ray Spencer of the Las Vegas police department.
At a news conference Tuesday, investigators said Moreno-Rodriguez left her boyfriend's San Jose home May 24. She left the boy’s father a note saying she was going to find a new home but gave no indication any harm would come to Liam.
“She specifically tells him ‘I'm sorry I had to do it like this,'” said Spencer.
“There was nothing suspicious in that message that would lead the father to believe Liam or Samantha were involved in any kind of foul play or there was any harm potentially to come,” Spencer added.
The 7-year-old boy was found murdered four days after leaving San Jose with his mother. His body was found near a hiking trail outside Las Vegas. His identity was unknown until a friend of the boy's mother saw a sketch of Liam.
“She also knew Samantha was missing, after observing that she then went to the San Jose police department and explained to them she felt that Liam could potentially be the person in that sketch,” said Spencer.
If Moreno-Rodriguez doesn’t fight extradition from Denver she could be in Las Vegas by the end of the week to face charges she murdered her son.
Moreno-Rodriguez may have grown up on the central coast and may still have family in the Moss Landing area.