Robert Rivera

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Robert Rivera was convicted in Delaware County, Pennsylvania of murdering his 20-month-old daughter. He said he gave her away and authorities do not know where she is. On August 10, 1999, Rivera picked up his daughter, Katelyn Rivera, at her day care in Boothwyn, took her to the zoo and to McDonalds. He then repeatedly tried to return her to her mother, Jennifer Helton, but her mother refused to take her. Apparently, Helton wanted greater custody rights and wanted to prolong Rivera's care of her so she could argue that he did not return her. Later that night Rivera took Katelyn to a tourist location (Longwood Gardens) and while there met a couple and ended up giving them custody of Katelyn as he had no money to continue caring for her.

Rivera was arrested the next day, and told investigators what happened and even accompanied them to Longwood Gardens. Despite initial disbelief, Rivera's story checked out as far as investigators could determine.^[1] Nevertheless, authorities began searching many areas where Rivera had been as though he had killed and buried her somewhere. Despite 5000 man-hours of searches using cadaver dogs, no body was ever found.^[2]

With the help of prison informant, William Lively, and a parolee, Thomas Whittaker, lead detective David Peifer fabricated circumstantial evidence involving a child’s shoe^[3] and a shovel^[4]. Curiously, the informant story that led to the finding of the shoe indicated that Katelyn was buried in Pennsylvania while the shovel allegedly stolen from the parolee indicated she was buried an hour's drive away in Cecil County, Maryland. Detective Peifer also setup an alleged confession^[5] in which Rivera gives a non-incriminating answer on tape, which sounded incriminating because Peifer asserted that it is in response to an incriminating question that was given off tape. It later became known that Peifer testified against accused murderer Nick Yarris in 1982^[6], a defendant who was exonerated by DNA evidence in 2004.

At trial, Rivera's attorney made no attempt to dispute the prosecution's evidence, and he even agreed to a stipulation by the prosecutor that on-tape statements made by Rivera confirmed that Detective Peifer's had asked him incriminating questions off-tape.^[7]

Rivera was charged with capital murder in April 2000 and convicted of second-degree murder in Jan. 2002. He was sentenced to life without parole. Because the prosecution needed an additional felony conviction to bolster the severity of a murder conviction, the prosecution broke new legal ground and made Rivera become the first parent in Pennsylvania history to be convicted of kidnapping his own child. The PA Supreme Court had ruled twice in the 1800's that a parent cannot be convicted of kidnapping his or her own child, but the kidnapping conviction has been upheld on appeal.^[8]