Larissa Rodriguez Charged With Son's Death After Remains Found In Backyard
A Cleveland woman was charged with murder Thursday in the presumed death of her five-year-old son after remains suspected to be his were found buried in the backyard of a home.
Larissa Maria Rodriguez was arrested Monday following a tip from her boyfriend's brother living in Pakistan stating that Jordan had been missing and that Rodriguez and her boyfriend buried her son Jordan’s body in the yard after finding him unresponsive.
Fox News reported that the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office had not yet identified the remains found Tuesday as those of Rodriguez’s developmentally disabled son and did not reveal how he died.
The brother said that Christopher Rodriguez called him from the Medina County Jail where he was serving a six-month sentence for failing to pay child support, and told him Christopher and Rodriguez both buried Jordan in the backyard of the home two months ago.
Cleveland police said Jordan died on Sept. 22. Rodriquez, however, told the police when they came to search her house Monday, her son was in Houston with his father and that he had left for Texas with his aunt Dec. 2. She added she had no way of contacting the child's father.
After searching the backyard, human remains were discovered by the police Tuesday and were taken to the examiner’s office.
Cleveland.com reported citing County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan that Rodriguez had a long history with the county's Job and Family Services, including removing her two oldest children from her custody several years ago.
Child services also found the home where the remains were found it infested with cockroaches and rats, at the time of its visit during the week. One of Rodriguez’s nine children was seen eating a sandwich that contained cockroaches, they said.
Her sisters told Cleveland.com that Rodriguez was currently six months pregnant with her tenth baby. They also said five children were living in the home, as others had previously been taken by children's services. Two other children lived with their father, according to Madigan.
One of Rodriguez's sisters, Ana Rodriguez, said she once saw Jordan tied up in a corner with a sock in his mouth. A friend also told her that she saw Jordan "nearly dead" in a closet a few months ago.
Ana described her nephew as a "sweet kid," said she reported both incidents to the county's child social workers. “I’m just so hurt and angry," Ana said after the remains were found. "I don't know why they would do this to him."
According to Cleveland 19, Emma Rojas, who was Rodriguez’ adoptive mother, “was stabbed to death by her boyfriend.” In a 2007 report about her Rojas’ death, the network said that Rodriguez was also a victim of violence because as Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Records records from 1990 showed the teen mom suffered bruises and contusions in a domestic violence incident with the father of her child.
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