Editor’s note: The video described in this story and shown above was courtesy of Univision.
The video is shocking and heartbreaking.
It shows Patricia Ripley walking with her 9-year-old son Alejandro on the bank of a canal in west Kendall.
She’s stroking his hair and looking around.
But in a single move, she shoves him into the water.
A witness who doesn’t want to be identified tried to make sense of what was happening.
He said Ripley returned with a bystander and another man. You can see they pull Alejandro from the water and dry him off.
Neighbors say Ripley and her son then leave.
Police say this was Ripley’s first attempt to kill her son, who was autistic and could not speak.
About hour later, authorities said she led him to another body of water at the Miccosukee Golf and Country Club.
His lifeless body would be found the next day.
Investigators said Ripley initially told them a bogus ambush and abduction story to explain what happened.
An all-out search was conducted before Ripley eventually confessed.
Ripley told detectives that Alejandro was “going to a better place.”
She now faces a charge of first-degree murder and attempted murder.