Mesa mom arrested for abusing, injuring juvenile son

MESA, AZ - Police arrested a Mesa mother Monday night regarding a call they received about an alleged child abuse case.

Kathleen Ruzich, 47, is in custody after police discovered an injured juvenile victim who claimed his mother had “beat him up.”

According to court documents, the child was crying and holding his face, stating that his mother had abused him and kicked him out of the house.

The child said Ruzich punched him in the face and hit him with a broom handle, a hanger and a metal chair.

The boy’s left eye and side of the face were swollen and he had raised red marks on his ribs and arms which appeared to be from the hanger, police reported.

His arm was also swollen where he was hit with the metal chair.

According to court documents, when Ruzich was contacted, she said that she got frustrated with the boy because he wouldn’t go to his grandmother’s house.

She claimed that she “socked” the victim on the face with a closed fist and pushed him on the bed where she struck him multiple times.

Ruzich stated that the boy hit her with a screwdriver to get away and she admitted to hitting him and throwing items at him until she told him to leave the house.

Ruzich was booked into jail on one count of child abuse.