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California mother wanted in murder of 7-year-old son arrested in Denver

SAMANTHA RODRIGUEZ
Posted at 12:45 PM, Jun 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-08 12:45:28-04

DENVER, Colo. — A San Jose, Calif. woman, wanted in connection with the murder of her 7-year-old son in Las Vegas, was arrested Tuesday morning in Denver.

Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, 35, was taken into custody Tuesday by agents from the Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force led by the FBI.

Law enforcement had a warrant out for her arrest after the body of her son, 7-year-old Liam Husted, was found by hikers near the Mountain Springs Trailhead, not far from Las Vegas, on May 28.

Husted and his mother apparently left San Jose on May 24 and were last seen at Laguna Beach on May 26.

Three days later, on May 29, the vehicle they were in was spotted near Grand Junction, Colorado.

Law enforcement would later say the woman checked into a hotel room by herself in the Denver area.

Rodriguez is being booked into a Denver-area jail for one count of open murder pending extradition to Las Vegas, an arrest bulletin from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said.

Oscar Contreras with KMGH first reported this story.