Mother accused of killing son returned to Nevada
The woman accused of killing her 7-year-old son and dumping his body off state Route 160 has been returned to Southern Nevada to face a murder charge.
Clark County Detention Center records show Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, 35, has been booked at the jail on a single count of murder in the death of her son, Liam Husted. Rodriguez previously waived extradition following her June 8 arrest in Denver, clearing the way for her return to the Las Vegas Valley this week.
Rodriguez is scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. arrest warrant return hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court on Wednesday.
Liam’s naked body was found May 28 near the Mountain Springs Trailhead off the road between Las Vegas and Pahrump. Initially referred to as John “Little Zion” Doe, Liam went unidentified for more than a week as investigators fielded hundreds of tips. Police said the child’s body had “multiple injuries.”
According to an arrest report in the case, Rodriguez had taken Liam and left their San Jose home on May 24. The mother and son checked into a Las Vegas hotel on May 27, the day before the boy’s body was found off the trail in Mountain Springs. A friend of Rodriguez’s ultimately saw news reports about John “Little Zion” Doe and contacted the San Jose Police Department to alert officials that the then-unidentified boy resembled Liam. His identity was later confirmed by authorities.
Police accessed Rodriguez’s email account, which led detectives to a Days Inn just south of Denver that Rodriguez checked into on May 31, a police report said. An exact motive in the crime has not been detailed by authorities.
“We believe there is sufficient evidence to bring charges against her for open murder, and we want to proceed against her on the charge,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told the Las Vegas Review-Journal previously.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
