Footage has emerged which allegedly shows Ripley pushing the nine-year-old into a canal in what police say is the mother's first failed attempt at taking his life. Photo / Univision
Footage has emerged which allegedly shows Ripley pushing the nine-year-old into a canal in what police say is the mother's first failed attempt at taking his life. Photo / Univision
The husband of a woman accused of killing her 9-year-old son is standing by his wife as video emerges of an earlier alleged failed attempt to kill him.
Police have alleged Patricia Ripley, 45, faked her son Alejandro's abduction, after she drowned him in a canal.
Husband Aldo Ripley told local media on Saturday: "It's not real".
But shocking footage has since emerged of the Florida woman appearing to push the boy into the water in what police have said was her first attempt to kill him.
In the clip, obtained by security firm Univison, a woman can be seen pulling a boy by the arm along the bank of the water. The woman then pushes the boy into the water and runs away.
Patricia Ripley is accused of murdering her autistic son Alejandro. Photo / NBC6
Miami Police have said it was Ripley in the footage, which was captured on a housing complex, claiming it was her first attempt to kill the autistic 9-year-old.
However nearby residents heard yelling and rescued him.
After the alleged failed attempt, police claim Ripley drove her son to another canal at the Miccosukee Golf and Country Club where Alejandro died.
"Unfortunately when she took him to the second canal, and there was no one there," lawyer Katherine Fernandez Rundle at a press conference, ABC News reports. "She tried it once, and people rescued him. He was alive. He could have stayed alive. She intended, from all the facts of the case, to kill him."
Footage has emerged which allegedly shows Ripley pushing the nine-year-old into a canal in what police say is the mother's first failed attempt at taking his life. Photo / Univision
The mother was arrested 48 hours later after she reported him missing, allegedly telling police she was ambushed while driving with her son by two men – one who was armed with a knife, who demanded drugs – the report states.
After Alejandro's body was discovered, police said Ripley confessed, telling them: "He's going to be in a better place."
Investigators believe the motive for the alleged murder was the boy's disability, which had "overwhelmed" Ripley.
Alejandro lived with a severe form of autism that left him unable to speak and required around-the-clock care.
Ripley's family have pleaded with the public to not jump to conclusions. Photo / Supplied
Ripley is now facing charges of first-degree murder and attempted premeditated murder and, if convicted, could face a death sentence in the US state or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The family appear to be standing by Ripley after their lawyer pleaded with the public not to jump to conclusions.
"At this time, we are assembling a legal team to make sure her rights are respected and that she has the opportunity to vindicate her good name," Rodriguez-Varela said.
Ripley's husband Aldo Ripley spoke out earlier, telling reporters they didn't "agree" with the charges.
"The only thing I'll say is that we love our life, we love Alejandro, and we don't agree with whatever they say about my wife," Aldo told WSVN. "It's not real."
