Court hearing set for mother charged in Las Vegas with son’s murder
The California woman accused of killing her son and disposing of the body off state Route 160 in Southern Nevada is scheduled for a court appearance Thursday in Colorado, according to online court records.
Clark County prosecutors are seeking to have San Jose resident Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, 35, extradited from Denver to Las Vegas to face a murder charge in the death of her 7-year-old son, Liam Husted.
Liam’s remains were discovered May 28 near the Mountain Springs Trailhead, off the state route between Las Vegas and Pahrump. It took authorities more than a week to confirm the child’s identity as investigators fielded hundreds of tips from across the United States. He was initially referred to as John “Little Zion” Doe.
The boy and his mother were staying at a Las Vegas hotel the day before hikers found his body, police said. Rodriguez was arrested Tuesday in Denver on suspicion of murder — one day after police announced Liam’s identity and declared her a wanted suspect.
Police have not released a suspected motive in the case or the circumstances of Liam’s slaying.
Colorado Judicial Branch online records show that Rodriguez is scheduled to appear in court at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday in Denver District Court for what is described as an “advisement hearing.” The hearing will be virtual and is expected to last an hour.
The office of the Colorado state public defender declined to say Monday whether the office is representing Rodriguez. Clark County prosecutors could not immediately be reached Monday for comment.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
