Mother Buried 5-Year Old Son in Backyard Charged W/ Murder | Interrogation of Larissa Rodriguez

Mother Buried 5-Year Old Son in Backyard Charged W/ Murder | Interrogation of Larissa Rodriguez

The mother of a 5-year-old whose body was found in a west side backyard earlier this week has been charged with murder.

Here's what led up to the charges against 34-year-old Larissa Rodriguez:

A phone call to police from Pakistan regarding a missing 5-year-old named Jordan Rodriguez who had possibly been buried in a backyard by his mother and her boyfriend. The call brought authorities to their home on the 1360 block of West 80th Street on Dec 18.

In the call, the man, who said he is in the Air Force and was overseas in Pakistan, told dispatchers that his brother confessed to burying a child in the backyard of his home with his girlfriend after she found the boy unresponsive.

"It's kind of messed up, the whole situation, but my brother told me something and I just can't sleep at night," he said. "I feel like I need to tell you something."

Investigators converged on the woman's home on Monday night. Police searched the house and backyard but didn't find anything. The mother was taken into custody. Police returned the next day.

Cleveland police returned to the house with a warrant and were joined in their investigation by the FBI, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office and the Cleveland Police Scientific Investigation Unit. Authorities started digging in the backyard of the home and human remains consistent with those of a young child were found buried.

Inhumane living conditions

An affidavit filed Dec. 19 from the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services described the house as "deplorable and unsanitary" and filled with rats and cockroaches. One of Rodriguez's children was seen eating a sandwich with cockroaches in it, according to court documents.

Five children — ages 1 to 12 — were removed from the home when the mother was taken into custody.

The affidavit said the children were in "immediate danger" because of the conditions in the home and the investigation involving the mother.

A neighbor, who said she was good friends with Rodriguez, gave a different account of the woman's parenting abilities.

Genny Lopez described the woman as an "awesome mom" and said she didn't believe the stories she was hearing about possible abuse.

The mother's story

When police originally questioned Rodriguez about the tip they received and the whereabouts of the 5-year-old, she told them the child's aunt had picked up Jordan and taken him to visit his father in Texas on Dec. 2.

Rodriguez told police the boy "has special needs and is unable to speak."

She was unable to provide a phone number, address or way to contact the boy's father. According to the police report, she referred to Jordan's father as a "donor" who she met on Facebook. Family members told News 5 she had several "donors," and there were multiple men who she met online that later fathered individual children of hers.

A history with children and family services

According to Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services, Rodriguez has nine children including Jordan. Her first encounter with the agency happened when she was 15 and was taken from her parent's custody in 1998.

Court records show her parents had allowed Rodriguez and her child to live with her abusive boyfriend, who left "bruises and contusions" on her after a domestic violence incident. Documents state the teen's parents were "overwhelmed with the care of their children" and were "unwilling to protect the child."

Years later, two of Rodriguez's children were permanently taken from her custody, including a son who was adopted by another family in 2005. According to documents from children and family services, a neglect complaint was filed four days after the child was born on April 3, 2003.

A failed system

Ana Rodriguez, the sister of the mother in custody, blamed children and family services for not stepping in sooner or following up on tips about the conditions in which the woman's children lived.

Rodriguez said she called the agency multiple times about the family, but nothing was ever done.

The documents also stated the corpse "exhibited multiple signs of abuse, including broken ribs."

Larissa Rodriguez was charged with murder for "purposely causing the death" of her son Jordan.

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