A photo of Liam Husted, 7, is displayed during a press conference that named his mother, Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, as a suspect in his murder at Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Headquarters Monday, June 7, 2021.
Thursday, July 22, 2021 | 3 p.m.
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Samantha Moreno Rodriguez
A 7-year-old boy Metro Police allege was killed in May by his mother died of strangulation, the Clark County Coroner’s Office said today.
A hiker found the body of Liam Husted, of San Jose, Calif., on May 28 in the desert off state Route 160, about 30 miles southwest of Las Vegas, police said.
An FBI-led task force arrested his mother, Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, 35, on June 8 in Denver, Colo., police said.
Moreno Rodriguez has since been extradited to Las Vegas and is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on a count of murder, Las Vegas Justice Court logs show.
Four days before Liam’s body was discovered, Moreno Rodriguez packed her car with her son’s belongings and took him from their home, which they shared with the boy’s father, police said.
The trip took them through Southern California and Las Vegas, where they stayed in a hotel shortly before Liam was killed, police said. The boy’s body went unidentified for 10 days.
The case broke open when an acquaintance of Moreno Rodriguez went to San Jose police and told them a composite sketch of the unknown boy resembled Liam, police said.
Shortly after DNA testing confirmed the boy’s identify, Las Vegas authorities issued an arrest warrant for Moreno Rodriguez, police said.
Police allege Moreno Rodriguez killed Liam in the small community of Mountain Springs, where she left his body.
Moreno Rodríguez is next due in court Aug. 3 for a preliminary hearing, court logs show.
