Disney trip ends in tragedy after mother kills son, police say

A mother is behind bars after calling the police on herself to report she had stabbed her young son to death inside a motel room after the pair visited Disneyland. 

Saritha Ramaraju, 48, has been arrested for allegedly murdering her 11-year-old son in Santa Ana on March 19, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. 

The pair had returned from a trip to Disneyland during a custody visitation three days earlier and were slated to check out of the motel to return the child to his father.

WEALTHY COASTAL ENCLAVE NANNY CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER IN TODDLER’S DEATH

Instead, authorities received a call from Ramaraju informing them she had just killed her son. 

When investigators arrived, they found the child stabbed to death on the bed, surrounded by Disneyland souvenirs. 

“The life of a child should not hang in the balance between two parents whose anger for each other outweighs their love for their child,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. 

‘MOST HATED MOM’ CASEY ANTHONY RETURNS TO NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT AFTER ACQUITTAL IN DAUGHTER’S MURDER

Saritha Ramaraju is facing numerous charges after authorities say the mother stabbed her 11-year-old son to death in a California hotel room after the pair visited Disneyland.  (Santa Ana Police Department)

Ramaraju moved out of state in 2018 after divorcing the child’s father and traveled to California for a custody visitation, where she purchased three-day passes for herself and her son. 

On the morning the child was set to return to his father, Ramaraju called 911 to tell authorities she had killed the boy and taken pills in an attempt to kill herself. Upon their arrival, investigators found a large kitchen knife, purchased the day before, inside the motel room.

FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X

Police officers place Saritha Ramaraju in handcuffs after she called 911 to tell authorities she had murdered her 11-year-old son in Santa Ana, California on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.  (Santa Ana Police Department)

Body camera footage shows Ramarjau calmly approaching authorities outside the motel room. As she is placed in handcuffs, one of the officers can be heard saying, “She has blood on her hands.” 

The child was pronounced dead at the scene and Ramaraju was taken to a nearby hospital. She was later arrested, charged with murder, torture, child endangerment and aggravated mayhem, and ordered to be held without bail. 

Disneyland Resort Hotels directed Fox News Digital to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The safest place for a child should be in their parents’ arms,” Spitzer said. “Instead of wrapping her arms around their son in love, she slit his throat and in the cruelest twist of fate removed him from the very world she brought him into.”