Manuela Morgado pleads not guilty to murdering her son Jason Reish
The woman accused of killing her 4-year-old son during a botched murder suicide attempt pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one count of second-degree murder.
Manuela Maria Morgado
Manuela Morgado, age 46, entered a plea of “not guilty” at the arraignment hearing before Judge Barry Warhit in County Court in White Plains. She will appear again in court January 10.
Morgado was arrested October 1 after police, alerted by a relative’s call, arrived at her Boston Post Road home to find her semiconscious and her son, Jason “Jake” Reish, dead.
The woman was in a bitter custody battle with the boy’s father, Dr. Timothy Reish and plotted to use helium gas to suffocate Jason on and then tried to commit suicide with a drug overdose.
“Manuela Morgado took the life of her own innocent four-year-old son in a horribly misguided attempt to make sure the child’s father would not have anything more to do with their lives,” Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore said in a statement after the arraignment. “The fact that the defendant over an extended period of time, methodically planned, purchased the materials used and carried out the crime, made the ultimate outcome all the more tragic.”
Morgado is being held without bail at Westchester County Jail in Valhalla.
