Mom caught on video 'pushing' 9-year-old son into canal and running away as he drowned, claimed he was 'in a better place' in confession that lawyers want tossed: DA

A Florida pistillate shoved her 9-year-old lad into a Miami canal and tried to archer cops that helium "loved the h2o and had fallen in," according to prosecutors. She aboriginal confessed aft constabulary obtained video footage that allegedly showed her "pushing" him and moving away.

Lawyers for Patricia Ripley, 51, are trying to get her confession tossed retired — claiming she was coerced into giving it utilizing a "Christian burial technique." Her attorneys picture this arsenic a maneuver wherever constabulary manipulate idiosyncratic into giving a confession done the "exploitation of beliefs" and "forgiveness."

"The Supreme Court of Florida has noted that the usage of the 'Christian burial technique' by instrumentality enforcement unit 'is unquestionably a blatantly coercive and deceptive ploy,'" Ripley's ineligible squad says successful a supplemental question to suppress her statements, which was discussed astatine a proceeding Tuesday successful Miami-Dade County Court.

According to court filings obtained by Law&Crime, Ripley's lawyers assertion constabulary detectives utilized "a operation of screaming, pulling up adjacent to her (on apical of her), pushing her manus distant aft pulling up connected her, utilizing spiritual epithets" on with "Christian burial speech" to get a confession from her for the 2020 execution of her son, Alejandro, successful southwest Miami-Dade.

Prosecutors said successful tribunal Tuesday that Ripley — who is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, kid maltreatment causing large bodily harm and different crimes — told detectives her lad "was successful a amended place" aft she drowned him, section autarkic TV presumption WPLG reports.

"The suspect gave a communicative that the unfortunate conscionable loved the h2o and had fallen in," Assistant State Attorney Abbe Rifkin recounted.

It was a Thursday evening, May 21, 2020, erstwhile Ripley was allegedly caught connected surveillance video "pushing the unfortunate into the canal," according to an apprehension affidavit obtained by Law&Crime. Bystanders saw Alejandro, who was autistic and nonverbal, "floating successful the canal" and pulled him out, per the affidavit.

Officers with the Miami-Dade Police Department were dispatched to the country aft receiving a study from Ripley of an equipped kidnapping and equipped robbery involving her son, according to the affidavit.

"Upon the azygous units' arrival, they made interaction with the suspect who advised that arsenic she was driving … an chartless marque and exemplary conveyance sideswiped her vehicle, causing her to crash," the affidavit alleges. "She stated that the operator got retired of the car, equipped himself with a knife, and approached the driver-side doorway of the defendant's vehicle. The operator past demanded drugs from the defendant. Upon the suspect not providing the drugs, the antheral past opened the beforehand driver-side doorway and took the victim's cellphone and tablet. She stated this antheral past removed her 9-year-old kid and fled successful an chartless direction."

Police launched a missing idiosyncratic search, during which Ripley provided "conflicting statements," according to cops.

"These statements … contradicted the statements of witnesses and the video footage obtained from the area," the affidavit states.

Ripley's lawyers accidental that she was taken into custody and interrogated for hours.

"Using some verbal and carnal intimidation, the detectives double-teamed the distraught and exhausted Ms. Ripley, demanding that she 'stop bulls—ing,'" according to the supplemental question to suppress her confession.

"[The detectives] decided to further exploit Ms. Ripley's Christian beliefs," the filing says, alleging that 1 of the detectives asked Ripley if she believed successful Jesus Christ, whether she was a Christian, whether she attended church.

"He advised her that she had amended commune due to the fact that helium did not judge what she was saying," the question states. "[The different detective] reminds Ms. Ripley that she is simply a Christian who believes successful God, and questions what she thinks God is saying close present that she is holding backmost specified unspeakable things and remonstrates that the lone happening near for her to bring God backmost is repentance."

Ripley's attorneys assertion that astatine 1 point, a detective said to her, "God is simply a forgiving God, okay? I'm a Christian myself. … God is simply a forgiving God, you know. And erstwhile you have, erstwhile you travel with a humble heart, God volition forgive you. All right? It doesn't substance however atrocious the misdeed is. He volition forgive you. Okay? And you cognize that. You know, we each cognize that. Okay? But you person to travel with a humble bosom to him asking for forgiveness."

The justice overseeing Ripley's lawsuit said Tuesday that she volition contented a written ruling connected the question to suppress Ripley's statements by June 23. A proceedings day is acceptable for January 2027.