Deadly Custody Battle: Tustin Student Yatin Ramaraju,11, Killed By Mother In Santa Ana Hotel

Photo: Courtesy of Santa Ana Police Department

India-West News Desk

SANTA ANA, CA – A custody dispute between an Orange County father and his ex-wife, who had been living in Virginia, took a tragic turn when their 11-year-old son was killed during a visit with his mother at a Santa Ana hotel.

Saritha Ramaraju, 48, was arrested on March 20 on suspicion of murder, torture, child endangerment, and aggravated mayhem after being released from a hospital. Police say she confessed to killing her son, Yatin Ramaraju, during a 911 call the previous day.

Yatin had most recently attended school in the Tustin Unified School District and had previously been a student in the Irvine Unified School District.

Officers arrived at the La Quinta Inn in Santa Ana on March 19 to find Yatin on a bed with multiple stab wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. KCAL-TV reported that a large kitchen knife was found in the room and that Saritha appeared unemotional when she emerged.

Yatin’s father, Prakash Raju, had full custody of the boy but had allowed him to visit his mother during spring break. The child was scheduled to be returned to his father by 6 p.m. that evening.

During her 911 call, Saritha told authorities she had ingested an unknown substance. She was found in the hotel hallway and hospitalized, later determined to have taken approximately 20 pills of Advil or Tylenol.

According to police, Saritha had been staying at the hotel for several weeks. Her last known residence was in Irvine, though she had been living in Fairfax, Virginia.

Court records show Saritha had been in a custody battle with Prakash since 2023. She alleged that he had substance abuse issues.

Prakash had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI charges in June 2023 and is on three years of informal probation. His blood-alcohol level at the time of his 2022 arrest was .25, more than three times the legal limit, according to court documents.

 In February, he requested early release from probation, citing his efforts to maintain sobriety and the impact of his criminal record on his career at Irvine-based Panasonic Avionics Corp where he works. His request was denied.

The couple divorced in January 2018. Saritha had recently filed court papers in November 2024 seeking custody of Yatin and hoping to have him live with her in Virginia.

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