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The Murder of Liam Husted
● Convicted — Life Sentence
7 Years Old — Autism
Known as Little Zion
Killed by His Mother
Mountain Springs, Nevada
The Victim
Liam Nicholas Husted
Liam Nicholas Husted — Age 7
| Full Name | Liam Nicholas Husted |
| Age at Death | 7 years old |
| Date of Death | May 28, 2021 |
| Hometown | San Jose, California |
| Disability | Autism Spectrum Disorder — Minimal Verbal Skills |
| Father | Nicholas Husted |
| Godfather | Michael Velasco |
| Known As | Little Zion — before he was identified |
Liam Nicholas Husted was seven years old and he was, as his father Nicholas put it, one in a trillion. He had autism spectrum disorder with minimal verbal skills, and he was brilliant in every way that brilliance can exist in a child who experiences the world differently than most. He attended a school for autistic children in San Jose. He had a home therapist who came to work with him on behavioral goals. Those services were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nicholas and Samantha continued raising Liam together at their San Jose apartment.
Liam loved to swim and had learned at the age of two. He loved to cook. He loved pizza and pasta. He loved the playground. His favorite place in the world was La Colina Park in San Jose, which his godfather Michael Velasco called the park Liam would always want to go to, every time, every day. There was a hill at La Colina that Liam would race up. He beat his dad up that hill more than once. Nicholas wore Liam's favorite blanket around his neck at his son's vigil and could not finish reading his statement because he was overcome with emotion.
Nicholas described his son as smart and quick and witty, always with the biggest smile on his face, always ready for an adventure. He said Liam always had style and charisma. He always made his presence known. He said most people do not realize how brilliant children on the autism spectrum are, and Liam was no different. He said the hardest part was knowing that Liam was taken from him by the one person he should have been able to trust, and that Liam must have been so scared and confused.
Liam's grandfather Chris Husted called him a happy, sweet, innocent child who adored his father. He said Liam was a special needs child at a disadvantage and dependent on the kindness of others. He said his mother took that away. Liam Husted was seven years old. He is not forgotten.
01
Background
What We Know
On May 24, 2021, Nicholas Husted arrived home from work at his San Jose apartment to find it empty. His son Liam and Liam's mother, Samantha Moreno Rodriguez, were gone. So were their belongings, packed into Rodriguez's 2007 Dodge Caliber. She had left Nicholas a voicemail: "I'm sorry I had to do it like this. I'm going to try to get a house for Liam and I. We can talk about this in the future." Nothing in the message suggested danger. Nicholas waited. He did not report Liam missing for a week.
Rodriguez drove south through California, then east to Nevada. On May 27, she and Liam checked into a Las Vegas hotel. The following morning, May 28, 2021, at approximately 7:45 a.m., hikers found the naked body of a small boy hidden behind a bush near the parking lot of the Mountain Springs Trailhead off State Route 160, approximately 30 miles west of Las Vegas. The boy had no identification. He had no clothes. There was nothing near him that indicated who he was.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigators named the boy John "Little Zion" Doe and began a nationwide search for his identity. They distributed a digitally enhanced sketch. The FBI offered a $10,000 reward for information. Hundreds of tips flooded in from across the country. At one point a Las Vegas mother came forward believing the boy was her missing son; he turned up safe in Utah with his father. LVMPD investigators were back to square one.
The break came on June 4, when a friend of Samantha Moreno Rodriguez saw the sketch circulating in the news and contacted San Jose police. She told them the child looked like Liam Husted, whom she had not heard from in over a week. A Metro detective flew to San Jose and collected a hoodie and pillow belonging to Liam. DNA from the items was matched to the boy found in the desert by June 5. Liam was identified.
After her arrest, Rodriguez told investigators what happened on May 28. She and Liam had gone hiking at Mountain Springs. During the hike, Liam was not listening to her. She shoved him. He fell and hit his head. He began screaming louder than she had ever heard him scream before. According to grand jury transcripts, Rodriguez strangled her son for ten to fifteen minutes until he stopped crying. She then removed all of his clothing and left his body hidden behind a bush near the trailhead parking lot. She drove away without him. She was still in the Denver area when the FBI arrested her on June 8.
Case Timeline
How It Unfolded
May 24, 2021
Rodriguez Leaves San Jose with Liam — Nicholas Finds Them Gone
Nicholas Husted returns from work to find his apartment empty. Rodriguez has left with Liam and all their belongings packed into her 2007 Dodge Caliber. She left a voicemail saying she was sorry for doing it this way, that she was going to find a new house for her and Liam, and that she and Nicholas could talk about it later. Nothing in the message suggests danger. Nicholas gives her several days before taking action.
May 27, 2021
Rodriguez and Liam Check Into Las Vegas Hotel
After driving through Southern California, Rodriguez and Liam check into a Las Vegas hotel on May 27. This is the last confirmed time Liam is seen alive. The following morning, Rodriguez takes him to the Mountain Springs Trailhead west of the city.
May 28, 2021 — Morning
Liam Murdered on the Trail — Body Discovered by Hikers
During a hike at Mountain Springs, Rodriguez becomes frustrated with Liam, who has autism and is not listening to her. She shoves him; he falls and hits his head. He begins screaming louder than she has ever heard him scream. She strangles him for ten to fifteen minutes until he stops. She removes all of his clothing and hides his body behind a bush near the trailhead parking lot. At approximately 7:45 a.m., hikers find the naked body of a small unidentified boy. Investigators name him John "Little Zion" Doe.
May 28 — June 4, 2021
Nationwide Search to Identify Little Zion
LVMPD Lt. Ray Spencer makes daily public appeals for help identifying the boy. The FBI releases a digitally enhanced sketch and offers a $10,000 reward. Hundreds of tips pour in from across the country. A Las Vegas mother mistakenly identifies the child as her son; he turns up safe in Utah. On June 1, Nicholas Husted files a missing persons report in San Jose after a week without word from Rodriguez. San Jose police find nothing suspicious in his account.
June 4–7, 2021
Family Friend Recognizes Sketch — Liam Identified — Rodriguez Named Suspect
A friend of Rodriguez sees the circulated sketch and contacts San Jose police on June 4, saying the child looks like Liam Husted. A Metro detective travels to San Jose and retrieves a hoodie and pillow belonging to Liam. By June 5, DNA analysis confirms the match. LVMPD publicly identifies the boy as Liam Husted on June 7 and names Samantha Moreno Rodriguez as the suspect. A nationwide alert is issued. Rodriguez's car and last known location are publicized.
June 8, 2021
Rodriguez Arrested in Denver
The Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, led by FBI Denver, arrests Rodriguez at a hotel in eastern Denver. She is with an unidentified male companion who is not considered involved in Liam's murder. She does not contest extradition and is transferred to Nevada. FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jeremy Schwartz states: Liam Husted will no longer be referred to as John "Little Zion" Doe.
June 30, 2021
First Nevada Court Appearance — Bail Denied — Confession Revealed
Rodriguez appears via video before Justice of the Peace Amy Chelini. Deputy District Attorney John Giordani tells the court Rodriguez admitted to killing Liam, saying she became frustrated and strangled him. Giordani calls it an egregious case of filicide. Rodriguez is denied bail and assigned public defender Sarah Hawkins. Clark County Coroner later confirms cause of death as strangulation.
September 1, 2022
Rodriguez Pleads Guilty
After initially pleading not guilty and seeking psychological evaluations, Rodriguez enters a guilty plea agreement on September 1, 2022. She pleads guilty to murder and child abuse, neglect or endangerment resulting in substantial bodily harm. The plea agreement recommends a minimum of 28 years before parole eligibility. Sentencing is set for November 17, 2022.
November 17, 2022
Sentenced to Life — 28-Year Minimum — Nicholas Speaks
District Judge Michelle Leavitt sentences Rodriguez to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 28 years. Nicholas Husted gives a victim impact statement, telling the court that his truck window still has Liam's tiny fingerprints on it and that his pain is too much to wash them away. Godfather Michael Velasco attends the hearing. The sentence is the maximum allowed under the plea agreement.
03
Law Enforcement
The Investigation
The investigation into Liam Husted's death began the morning of May 28, 2021, when hikers discovered his naked body near the Mountain Springs Trailhead. The case was led by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, with critical support from the FBI Las Vegas Field Office, FBI Denver, San Jose Police Department, and the Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force. LVMPD Homicide Lieutenant Ray Spencer became the public face of the investigation, making daily appeals to the public for nearly two weeks.
The initial challenge was identifying the child. The body had no clothing, no identification, and no witnesses. Investigators named him John "Little Zion" Doe and released a digitally enhanced sketch prepared by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The FBI offered a $10,000 reward. Hundreds of tips came in from across the country over the following days, including a false identification that temporarily led investigators to believe the boy might be a missing child from another state. When that child turned up safe in Utah, the case remained open.
The break came from within Rodriguez's own social circle. On June 4, a friend of Rodriguez who had seen the sketch in news coverage contacted San Jose police and told them the child resembled Liam Husted, whose mother she had not heard from in over a week. LVMPD sent a detective to San Jose, who retrieved a hoodie and pillow belonging to Liam. Scientists at the FBI lab matched the DNA within a day, and on June 7 LVMPD publicly identified the child and named Samantha Moreno Rodriguez as the suspect.
By this point Rodriguez had been in Denver for days, staying at a hotel in eastern Denver with an unidentified male companion. The Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, led by FBI Denver, located and arrested her on the morning of June 8. She did not contest extradition and was transferred to Nevada. When she appeared in a Las Vegas courtroom via video on June 30, prosecutors revealed she had already confessed: she admitted strangling Liam because she was frustrated with him during the hike.
Grand jury testimony from a detective described what Rodriguez had told investigators: Liam fell and hit his head after she shoved him and began screaming louder than she had ever heard him scream before. She strangled him for ten to fifteen minutes. After he stopped, she removed his clothing and left his body concealed behind a bush. The Clark County Coroner subsequently confirmed strangulation as the official cause of death. Nicholas Husted said in a statement after the investigation concluded that he would be forever grateful to the detectives who worked tirelessly and left no stone unturned to bring his son justice.
LVMPD Press Conference — Lt. Ray Spencer Identifies Liam and Names Rodriguez as Suspect
04
Convicted — Life Sentence
Arrest and Charges
Samantha Moreno Rodriguez
Samantha Moreno Rodriguez
Age 35 at Time of Crime — 36 at Sentencing — San Jose, California
Charges (Plea): Murder; Child Abuse, Neglect or Endangerment Resulting in Substantial Bodily Harm
Arrested: June 8, 2021 — Denver, Colorado — by FBI-led Denver Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force
Plea: Guilty — September 1, 2022 — Clark County Superior Court
Sentence: Life in prison with possibility of parole after 28 years
Sentenced: November 17, 2022 — District Judge Michelle Leavitt, Clark County District Court, Las Vegas
Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney John Giordani; Clark County District Attorney's Office
Defense: Public Defender Sarah Hawkins
Case Closure Notes
Deputy District Attorney John Giordani described the case at Rodriguez's first court appearance as an egregious case of filicide. She essentially said that she became frustrated with the child and strangled him. Judge Michelle Leavitt sentenced Rodriguez to the maximum allowed under the plea agreement, life with a 28-year minimum. Nicholas Husted told the court at sentencing that his truck window still has his son's tiny fingerprints behind the seat, and that his pain is too much to wash them away. Rodriguez will not be eligible for parole consideration until she has served a minimum of 28 years.
Forensic Breakdown
Evidence and Method
Cause of Death — Strangulation
Rodriguez told investigators she strangled Liam for approximately ten to fifteen minutes. The Clark County Coroner confirmed the official cause of death as strangulation. Grand jury testimony from a detective described Liam screaming louder than Rodriguez had ever heard him scream before his death.
The extended duration of the strangulation was cited by prosecutors as evidence of deliberateness. Deputy District Attorney Giordani stated at the first court appearance that Rodriguez described strangling the boy after becoming frustrated during their hike.
Post-Mortem Conduct — Body Disposal
After strangling Liam, Rodriguez removed all of his clothing and concealed his naked body behind a bush near the Mountain Springs Trailhead parking lot. The removal of his clothes was a deliberate act that stripped him of any identifying information and significantly delayed the identification of his remains.
She then drove away without him and continued traveling. Surveillance footage later confirmed she was seen in the area following the discovery of his body but without Liam present in the vehicle.
DNA Identification
The removal of Liam's clothing and the absence of any identification meant investigators spent over a week unable to name the child. The breakthrough came when a friend of Rodriguez recognized the digitally enhanced sketch released by LVMPD. A Metro detective traveled to San Jose and collected a hoodie and a pillow belonging to Liam.
FBI laboratory scientists processed the DNA from those items and matched them to the remains found at Mountain Springs within a day. The match provided positive identification and established the chain of evidence linking Rodriguez directly to the crime scene.
Confession
After her arrest, Rodriguez admitted to investigators that she killed Liam. She described the sequence of events on the trail: she became frustrated, shoved him, he fell and hit his head and began screaming, and she strangled him until he stopped. Her account was disclosed by prosecutors at her first Nevada court appearance on June 30, 2021.
The confession, combined with the DNA match to Liam's belongings and the hotel check-in records placing them together the night before, formed the evidentiary foundation of the case. Rodriguez ultimately entered a guilty plea in September 2022.
Victim Vulnerability
Liam had autism spectrum disorder with minimal verbal skills. He was entirely dependent on his caregivers. His grandfather Chris Husted noted that Liam was a special needs child at a disadvantage and dependent on the kindness of others. The autism-related services he had been receiving, including a home therapist, had been suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prosecutors described Liam's disability as a central factor in the vulnerability of his situation. He could not advocate for himself, could not describe mistreatment, and was wholly reliant on his mother for his safety and care. Deputy District Attorney Giordani called the case an egregious case of filicide.
Hotel Records and Travel Evidence
Records confirmed that Rodriguez and Liam checked into a Las Vegas hotel on May 27, the day before his body was found. Investigators also confirmed through surveillance and vehicle records that Rodriguez was seen in her 2007 Dodge Caliber in the area after the discovery of Liam's body, without Liam present.
These records established that the murder occurred between the hotel check-in and the discovery of his body the following morning, and placed Rodriguez at the location of the crime. Cell phone and travel records further traced her route from San Jose through California and Nevada to her eventual arrest in Denver.
In Memoriam
He Is Not Forgotten
Liam Husted learned to swim when he was two years old. He loved to cook. He loved pizza and pasta. He beat his dad up the hill at La Colina Park more than once and his dad never stopped being proud of him for it. He always had a big smile on his face. He always made his presence known. He was quick and witty and he knew exactly how to get what he wanted, and he had more charisma and style than most people twice his age.
He also had autism, which meant the world took a little more work for him, and which meant he depended on the people around him to be patient and kind. The services that had helped him navigate that world had been suspended during the pandemic. He was doing his best. He was seven years old and doing his absolute best, and on a hiking trail in Nevada his mother decided that his best was not good enough and she took his life away from him.
For over a week, the world knew him only as Little Zion. A boy found in a desert without his name. The community of Las Vegas and people across the country who had never met him came together to try to give him his name back. They called him Little Zion because something about his face spoke of something holy, something worth finding, something worth the effort. They were right about that.
His name is Liam Nicholas Husted. His dad's truck window still has his tiny fingerprints in it. His dad cannot wash them away. His dad said: the hardest part was knowing that I wasn't there to protect him. Nicholas Husted protected that window instead. He is not forgotten.
Liam Nicholas Husted — 2014–2021
Sources
Las Vegas Review-Journal — Woman Sentenced to Life in Prison for Strangling 7-Year-Old Son, November 17, 2022 | Las Vegas Review-Journal — Prosecutor: Mom Strangled Boy Found Dead Along Highway Near Las Vegas, June 30, 2021 | Law and Crime — Samantha Moreno-Rodriguez to Admit Killing Liam Husted, September 2022 | NBC Bay Area — Liam Husted's Mother Samantha Moreno Rodriguez Confessed to Murder, July 2021 | CBS San Francisco — Samantha Rodriguez Arrested in Denver in Son's Murder, June 2021 | ABC7 San Francisco — Father of Liam Husted Honors Son at San Jose Vigil, June 2021 | KTVU — I'm Living in a Nightmare, Says Father of San Jose Boy Allegedly Killed by Mother, June 2021 | CBS News — Samantha Moreno Rodriguez San Jose Mom Arrested on Suspicion of Killing Son Liam Husted, June 2021 | NBC News — Mother of Boy Found Dead Near Las Vegas Trail Is Arrested, June 2021 | Fox 5 Vegas — Woman Accused of Killing 7-Year-Old Outside Las Vegas to Plead Guilty, September 2022 | Las Vegas Sun — Officials Waiting on Toxicology Report, June 2021 | Oxygen — Liam Husted's Death Ruled Homicide by Strangulation | Autism Memorial — Liam Husted | Disability Day of Mourning — Liam Husted | Nicholas Husted — GoFundMe: Official Go Fund Me for Liam Husted
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