Natalia Suero (CMPD)
A 39-year-old North Carolina woman accused of letting her 2-year-old son drown last year told investigators that the child was “possessed by demons” and that she was happy that the boy was now “in a different place,” according to newly released warrants. Natalia Suero — who has been in custody since last summer — is currently facing first-degree murder charges in the death of young Jonathan Suero.
According to a press release from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Suero at approximately 9 a.m. on March 12, 2022, flagged down an off-duty officer in Park Road Park near the 6200 block of Park Road. Suero allegedly told the off-duty officer that her son was in the pond and not breathing. The officer accompanied Suero to the pond where he found Jonathan “face up floating in the pond.”
The off-duty officer performed CPR on the child until Emergency Medical Services personnel arrived and transported Jonathan to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center for treatment. The boy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the facility.
An initial search warrant in the investigation, obtained by Charlotte CBS affiliate WBTV, reportedly stated that Suero sat down for a voluntary interview with investigators after the drowning and provided a series of suspicious responses to their questions.
Detectives reportedly noted that Suero gave “vague and inconsistent statements” regarding the incident. At one point, she allegedly claimed that she had “blacked out” and could not provide even an estimated timeline of the events leading up to Jonathan being in the pond.
She eventually said that when she let Jonathan out of the car she lost sight of him when she was getting his stroller out of the trunk. When she looked up again, he had begun running towards the pond, which was approximately 150 yards away, and she could not catch up to him before he got to the water. She said she went in after him, but said he was underwater and she was unable to locate him.
According to a newly released warrant obtained by Queen City News, when police interviewed Suero a second time regarding her son’s death, the suspected killer’s narrative changed and she allegedly provided a series of bizarre and disturbing responses.
“This time her story differed. She advised that she was headed to a Publix grocery store and couldn’t advise where one was close to the park,” the warrant reportedly states. “Detectives verified that there are no nearby Publix grocery stores. They also noted that she drove past a Harris Teeter Store to get to the park.”
Suero during the second interview initially told CMPD detectives that she did in fact catch up to her son, but said that the toddler “struggled, got away from her, and floated away, all while at a depth over his head,” the affidavit reportedly states.
However, when investigators pressed her on the inconsistencies and changes in her stories, she allegedly said that Jonathan was “teleported from her to where he was found by Jesus.” She then reportedly stated that she believed Jonathan “was possessed by demons and that she knew how to get rid of them.”
“She advised detectives that she was glad that he was in a different place,” the affidavit reportedly states.
Furthermore, police say that a forensic search of Suero’s phone revealed that before her son drowned she had performed a Google search for “possessed child.”
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