Authorities have arrested a mother suspected of killing her 7-year-old son, according to ABC 7.
The mother, 35-year-old Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, was taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force in Denver, Colorado, ABC 7 reported.
The arrest comes after authorities announced a nationwide arrest warrant for Rodriguez Monday over suspicion of murdering her son, 7-year-old Liam Husted. Husted’s body was found by a hiker on May 28, behind a bush at a trail head in a rural area of Las Vegas just off of a major highway, according to ABC 7.
On the morning of June 8, 2021, Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, 35, was arrested in Denver, Colorado by the Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force led by the @FBIDenver. She will be booked into an area jail pending extradition to Las Vegas.#BREAKING @FBILasVegas #LasVegas pic.twitter.com/lC0SmGF68x
— LVMPD (@LVMPD) June 8, 2021
On May 26, the mother and son were seen in both Laguna Beach and Victorville, California.
The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force was glad to be in a position to assist @FBILasVegas & @LVMPD with the location & apprehension of Ms. Moreno Rodriguez. The partnerships that comprise our task forces are critical to our work. #PartnersinJusticehttps://t.co/BH41GJPIoU
— FBI Denver (@FBIDenver) June 8, 2021
A family friend saw media coverage of the events and believed there might have be a connection to Rodriguez and Husted, leading them to contact investigators with the San Jose Police Department, according to ABC 7. Previously, the FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information on the suspected murder. (RELATED: Toddler’s Heart Found ‘Ripped In Half’ In Gruesome Homicide Case)
Rodriguez will be booked into a Denver jail on one count of open murder before being extradited to Las Vegas, the Metropolitan Police Department tweeted.