Mother to Plead Guilty in Memorial Day Murder of Autistic Son
Image released in an effort to identify the remains of a young boy discovered in the mountains outside of Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend in 2021. (Center for Missing and Exploited Children)
Little Zion Doe
On a tragic Memorial Day Weekend in 2021, the body of a young boy was found in the mountains a few miles outside of Las Vegas. Homicide investigators determined the victim had been strangled to death. The unknown victim was dubbed John “Little Zion” Doe by the Clark County Coroner’s Office, and the search began for both the identify of Little Zion Doe and his killer.
The body found outside of Las Vegas on May 28, 2021 was later identified as that of 7-year-old Liam Husted. Liam’s mother, Samantha Moreno-Rodriguez, had suddenly left her home in San Jose with Liam on May 24, 2021. Liam’s family remembered him as a sweet and intelligent boy. (Facebook)
A Mother and Child Go Missing
While Las Vegas police worked to identify the slain boy, a young father in San Jose, California, was taking steps to locate his missing son. Nicholas Husted had arrived to the home he shared with his girlfriend and young son on May 24, 2021, to find no one in the house. His girlfriend and mother of his child, Samantha Moreno-Rodriguez, left a voicemail saying that she took their son Liam to find a new place to live. She said Nicholas and her would talk in the near future.
Nicholas gave things a few days, but he finally went to file a missing persons report on June 1st after hearing no word from Samantha. It was not long after that Las Vegas homicide detectives were able to confirm that John “Little Zion” Doe was 7-year-old Liam Husted.
Photo of Samantha Moreno-Rodriguez after her arrest for the murder of her 7-year-old son, Liam Husted. Moreno-Rodriguez told investigators that she became frustrated with Liam and strangled him to death in a fit of rage. (CCDC)
Filicide
Now a manhunt was underway to locate Samantha Moreno-Rodriguez. She had last been seen leaving her home in San Jose driving a dark blue 2007 Dodge Caliber. It was only a matter of days before Moreno-Rodriguez’s vehicle was spotted at a motel in Colorado. A task force composed of the Denver Police Department and FBI captured Moreno-Rodriguez in her motel room, and she was extradited back to Las Vegas to face a charge of open murder.
Moreno-Rodriguez told police that she became frustrated with Liam, who was autistic, and strangled him in a fit of rage. After initially pleading not guilty and seeking psychological evaluations, Moreno-Rodriguez entered into a plea agreement in September of 2022.
The 36-year-old mother has agreed to plead guilty to the murder of her son, Liam, as well as child abuse. Moreno-Rodriguez will serve a minimum of 28 years in a Nevada prison before being eligible for release. Her formal sentencing is set for next week.
Court records of Moreno-Rodriguez’s agreement to plead guilty to the murder of her son. She will serve a minimum of 28 years in prison. (Clark County Courts)