Vehicle Found on Cape May Beach Linked to Pennsylvania Death

CAPE MAY – An unoccupied Toyota Highlander found partially submerged in the water on the Cove Beach in Cape May, April 11, belongs to the mother of an 11-year-old boy found dead in his home in Horsham, Pennsylvania, the Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) District Attorney’s Office announced.
Cape May police discovered the unoccupied vehicle on the beach at around 7 a.m. Camera recordings show the vehicle went into the water around 3:30 a.m.
Cape May City Manager Mike Voll said the police ran the vehicle’s license plates and registration and found the vehicle was tied to a suspected homicide in Horsham. He said the driver was arrested in Wildwood Crest.
According to a press release issued by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, Ruth Whitehead-Dirienzo, the mother of the deceased boy, was located alive by the Wildwood Crest police, but no charges have been filed at this time.
A check of the Cape May County Clerk’s property records show that a Daniel and Ruth Whitehead own a home on Seaview Avenue.
Horsham police were called to a home in the 500 block of Privet Road, in Horsham Township, Pennsylvania, around the time the vehicle was being discovered in Cape May.
The boy’s father, Daniel Whitehead, found his son, Matthew Whitehead, dead in the home’s master bedroom, where he had spent the night with his mother.
According to the press release, Daniel Whitehead told police he awoke this morning and noticed that the master bedroom door was locked, and his wife’s black Toyota Highlander was missing from the garage.
Police were still in the Whitehead home when contacted by the Cape May police, informing them they had found the black Highlander on the beach.
A joint investigation is being conducted by Montgomery County detectives and Horsham police. The cause of the boy’s death is pending an autopsy by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.
Kate Delano, a spokesperson with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, said Ruth Whitehead-Dirienzo is in police custody in New Jersey but had not yet been charged.
“She is being interviewed as a person of interest,” Delano said.
Delano said Montgomery County would seek extradition if charges are filed against Whitehead-Dirienzo.
Voll said the Cape May police would be working with Wildwood Crest and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office. He said the vehicle was removed from the beach by Cape May Public Works.
A call placed to the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office was not immediately returned.   
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com.