Post by Graveyardbride on Jun 29, 2019 10:00:09 GMT -5
Mother Accused of Killing Toddler Because He Was Interfering with Her Extramarital Affair
GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Prosecutors say a New Jersey mother killed her toddler because she felt he was getting in the way of her extramarital affair. The allegation came Wednesday during a detention hearing for Heather Reynolds (above), a 41-year-old Gloucester Township resident who has been charged with murder and child endangerment in the child’s May 2018 death.
Prosecutors contend Reynolds suffocated her 17-month-old son, Axel, by holding a cleansing wipe over his nose and mouth.
On the morning of May 10, 2018, Reynolds walked out of her home carrying the lifeless body of her child crying for neighbors to call 911. When first responders arrived, they found Axel’s body lying on the lawn. He was cold to the touch and there was bruising on his mouth and nose. Reynolds told them Axel smelled like rubbing alcohol and she believed he may have accidentally ingested something poisonous.
However, the Camden County Medical Examiner ruled Axel’s death “homicide by asphyxia” and Assistant Prosecutor Peter Gallagher alleged the boy died when “a wipe containing [rubbing] alcohol and detergent was placed over the mouth and nose.”
is charged with murder, endangering the welfare of a child, possession of methamphetamine and hindering apprehension in connection with the death of her son.
Text messages recovered from her phone revealed Reynolds and a man had been having an affair while her husband was working out of state, Gallagher told the court during the detention hearing. “A review of the text messages between the defendant and her boyfriend from the previous night reveal that the defendant was becoming frustrated by the boyfriend’s apparent lack of interest,” he claimed. “And witnesses also told detectives that the defendant had expressed the sentiment that her toddler son … was an obstacle to her relationship with her boyfriend.” He said the child’s death was suspicious from the beginning, but it had taken a year for prosecutors to gather enough evidence to bring charges.
Reynolds, who has also been charged with possession of methamphetamine and hindering apprehension in connection with the death of her son, has pled not guilty and her attorney, Michael Testa Sr., said his client has “suffered greatly as a result of this,” adding that her husband died six months after their child’s death.
Gallagher countered by insisting the real victim was Axel, telling the court, “This was an absolutely brutal murder and a helpless victim.”
The judge eventually decided Reynolds will remain in jail until her trial, noting she faces a possible life sentence.
Sources: Harriet Sakmensuer, People, June 27, 2019, and The Associated Press, June 27, 2019.