A mother in Tennessee has been arrested for faking her 12-year-old autistic son’s death after dumping him at a motel.

The mother, who has been named as Vanessa Blanchard, 39, was reportedly asked by a member of staff at the New Providence Middle School in Clarksville, in the south-eastern US state of Tennessee, why her son, who has not been named, had failed to show up to school for the last two days, on 29th October.

She allegedly told the member of staff, who has not been named either, that her son had passed away after suffering a seizure, when in fact she had virtually abandoned him at the hotel, making only the occasional visit to check up on him.

The local community and the school came together to raise money to help cover the young boy’s funeral costs, but when they contacted the funeral home, they were told that there was no service planned for the boy.

The school then reportedly contacted the mother again, at which point she allegedly told them that she was waiting for the results of an autopsy from the Terranova Hospital in Clarksville.

Officials then discovered that the boy’s laptop, which was issued by the school, was being used at the Vacation Motor Motel, on 16th November.

Blanchard has reportedly been arrested and allegedly confessed to the police that she left the 12-year-old boy there alone, insisting, however, that she popped by daily or every second day.

She has been charged with false suppression of death and with contributing to the delinquency of a child, according to the police.

There are currently no details regarding a possible motive for the alleged crimes.