Former Modesto resident arrested in the death of her son, 9, in Reno motel room
A former Modesto resident was arrested Friday in Reno in the death of her 9-year-old son, whom authorities found not breathing in a motel room.
The son died at a Reno hospital despite lifesaving measures, the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper reported.
Ansonia Laws, 37, was booked at the Washoe County Jail on Friday on suspicion of murder. She is being held without bail, according to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office website.
Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear said Suleiman Alsubaihi reported to Modesto police in September 2022 that Laws had left the city with their then 8-year-old son without telling him. He believed she moved to Stockton to be with family.
Bear said Alsubaihi did not live with Laws and their son but visited the son regularly. Bear said there was nothing Modesto police could do because Alsubaihi did not have custody of his son.
Alsubaihi told Sacramento TV station ABC10 that he and Laws had been partners but had been separated for a long time.
“I take him to the park, I walk with him, I just tried to do anything because I only could come and see him one day a week,” Alsubaihi said about his time with his son when he and his mother were in Modesto.
This story was originally published October 16, 2023 at 5:08 PM.
