New Jersey Mother Found Guilty of Murdering her 17-Month-Old Son, in Alleged Attempt to Maintain Affair

A New Jersey woman has been sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for the 2018 murder of her 17-month-old son.

Heather Reynolds, 45, was found guilty of murdering her toddler in July by a jury and was sentenced to life in prison for the charge on Nov. 15, according to a statement from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office. 

“We are grateful to the jury for the time and attention that they gave to this case,” said CCPO Homicide Section Chief Peter Gallagher.

Judge Gwendolyn Blue also sentenced her to eight years in prison for one count of endangering the welfare of a child and another four years in prison for the possession of a controlled dangerous substance (methamphetamine), both of which will run concurrent to her life sentence, according to court documents.

In the 2018 death of her son, police had responded to a report of an unresponsive child on a lawn who was later pronounced deceased. The boy's cause of death was declared as asphyxia and was ruled a homicide, according to the prosecutor.

Prosecutors on the case accused Reynolds of killing her son, Axel, in an alleged attempt to continue an affair. Reynolds allegedly suffocated him by covering his nose and mouth with a cleansing wipe, CBS News reported. 

Reynolds' attorney disputed this and instead described her as a devoted mother that tried to save her son after finding him unresponsive, according to CBS News. 

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