A New Jersey woman will most likely be spending the rest of her life in prison after being convicted of killing her 17 month old son in 2018.
Heather Reynolds, 44, was found guilty last Thursday of murder, possession of methamphetamine and endangering the welfare of a child.
Reynolds will be sentenced in October for smothering her son, Axel, on May 10, 2018.
Reynolds suffocated her son by holding a cleaning wipe over his nose and mouth. She then ran away from the home, carrying her son in her arms, and screaming to neighbors for help.
Gloucester Township Police were called to the scene, and the child was pronounced deceased a short time later.
A year after the boy’s death, medical examiners determined he had died from asphyxia, and Reynolds was arrested on June 13, 2019.
After questioning Reynolds admitted that she killed Axel because he was an obstacle to the ongoing extramarital relationship she was having with her boyfriend.
“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,” Assistant Prosecutor Peter Gallagher alleged in court in 2019. “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.”
Although, Reynolds was married at the time of the incident, her husband was mostly out of town for work.
After the verdict was read in court, Reynolds became emotional and started uncontrollably sobbing. Jurors had deliberated for six hours before convicting Reynolds for her crime.
Reynold’s attorney, Richard Fuschino said, “My client maintains her innocence and plans to appeal the verdict.”
Officials had also accused Reynolds of conspiring with her boyfriend, Jeffrey Callahan, to kill one of her exes, Domenic Caruso, after learning Caruso had spoken to the police investigating Axel’s death.
However, jurors acquitted her of conspiracy to commit murder and witness tampering charges filed last year.
At trial, Fuschino argued in court that it was Caruso who smothered Axel while Reynolds was asleep. But prosecutors countered Caruso had no motive to kill the boy.
Along with Reynolds, Callahan was also charged with conspiracy to commit murder and witness tampering. Prosecutors dropped the conspiracy count after he agreed to plead guilty to witness tampering.
A date for the 45-year-old Callahan’s sentencing has not been set.
