Mom Found Dead By Police Notifying Her of Daughter's Murder
Maggie
From the Fayetteville Observer-Times:
Sunday, August 8, 1999
Girl, woman slain in Harnett County
By Michelle Washington
Staff writer
JOHNSONVILLE -- A 7-year-old girl was killed Saturday by someone who drove over
her body several times with a car, according to the state Highway Patrol.
When officers went to the girl’s home to notify her family, they found the body
of a woman behind the locked door. The girl’s 1-year-old brother was inside. He
cried as deputies broke in.
Law enforcement officials would not release the girl’s name, but sources
identified the child as Sherita Rivera. Harnett County Sheriff’s Maj. Steve
West said the body of the woman had not been positively identified.
Contributed photo Seven-year-old Sherita Rivera, right, was killed Saturday.
Her brother, Shawn, left, was unharmed.
Neighbors said the home on Brafford Estates Drive belongs to Patrice Rivera.
Sherita and Shawn, the 1-year-old boy inside the house, were her children.
The investigation started when a woman driving to the airport about 4:15 a.m.
called for help when she saw a body on Cameron Hill Road, about 2 miles from
N.C. 24, said state Highway Patrol First Sgt. Harold Thompson. A child’s body
had been left across the yellow lines.
Sherita was hit several times by the same vehicle, Thompson said. Sherita was
also run over by a second car, Thompson said. “The second one could possibly
not know what they hit,” Thompson said.
Sherita’s clothing was dark, he said.
Thompson said Sherita wore an identification bracelet. Johnsonville Elementary
School Principal Viola Elliott identified the child’s body and gave rescue
workers her address.
Officers left the scene on Cameron Hill Road about 12:30 p.m. to find Sherita’s
mother. West said when deputies arrived at the Rivera home on Brafford Estates
Drive, about 3 miles away, they could hear a baby crying behind the locked
door. When no one answered, the deputies broke in.
West said the same person is probably responsible for both deaths.
Ron Rivera, Patrice’s husband, is in the Army and stationed in Korea, neighbors
said. Shawn has been turned over to Harnett County Social Services.
Thompson said investigators believe they know how Sherita was killed, but he
would not disclose the cause. West said he did not know how the woman inside
the Rivera home was killed. Autopsies will be peformed on both bodies. West did
not know of a motive for the crimes. No missing person report had been filed on
Sherita, he said.
Investigators spent nearly 12 hours gathering evidence from Cameron Hill Road.
Orange cones marked bits of evidence in the roadway. A large piece of metal lay
about half a mile from Sherita’s body. A firefighter said the metal had blood
on it. Before leaving the scene just before 5 p.m., firefighters had to wash
Sherita’s blood from the roadway.
Cameron Hill Road is a long, nearly straight piece of highway in Johnsonville.
The community is in southwestern Harnett County about 12 miles north of Spring
Lake. Residents said they have complained to the Sheriff’s Department about
people speeding and drag racing on Cameron Hill Road.
Bob Kipfer’s house stands near where Sherita’s body was found. At first, he
thought that Sherita had been killed by one of the drag racers.
“Anybody who kills kids -- they don’t need to be on the street,” Kipfer said.
In Brafford Estates subdivision, neighbors watched as evidence technicians
dusted a black Acura outside the Rivera home for fingerprints. The street is
lined with small one-story homes similar to the Riveras’. Children played in
yards and rode bicycles in the street Saturday. Residents say their
neighborhood is quiet, filled with military families struggling to get by.
Neighbors watch out for each other, they said.
Margaret Portillo said she last saw Patrice Rivera on Friday evening. Rivera
asked Portillo to baby-sit in the morning. “She had to go to work at 7 a.m.,”
Portillo said. She said Rivera is a cook in the Army.
Portillo waited until 7:40 a.m., but Rivera didn’t show up. Since her car was
at the house, Portillo thought she had called in sick. About 11 a.m. Portillo,
her husband and children left their house.
“I thought I should knock on the door and say, “You don’t need me anymore?”
Portillo said. But she didn’t. She learned of Sherita’s death and the body
across the street when she returned home.
Portillo said Rivera has lived in the home about a year and a half. Portillo’s
husband, Ron, was incredulous as he watched the officers from the Highway
Patrol, Sheriff’s Department, State Bureau of Investigation and the Army
Criminal Investigation Division. He said he moved to rural Harnett County
because he thought it would be safe and quiet.
“This is why people stay away from post and from Fayettenam,” Ron Portillo
said.
Christie and Larry Lawrence live across the street from the Riveras’ home.
Their children rode the bus to school with Sherita, Christie Lawrence said.
Larry Lawrence said Patrice Rivera often has visitors at her house. Last week,
two men who were there fought in front of the home. “Patrice ran them out of
her yard,” Larry Lawrence said.
Lula McCan used to live with her daughter, Christie Lawrence. McCan started
baby-sitting the children last year, she said. McCan wept as she talked about
Sherita.
Staff photo by Jay Capers Investigators from the N.C. Highway Patrol and the
State Bureau of Investigation mark evidence on Cameron Hill Road where a girl
was found dead on Saturday morning.
“She was such a good girl,” McCan said. “She had such pretty long hair. She
called me gramma.”
Viola Elliott, the principal at Johnsonville Elementary School, said Sherita
was a second-grader there. School had been in session three days.
Elliott described Sherita as “very friendly, but a little bit shy, a little
reserved.”
“Her smile would steal your heart, steal your heart for sure,” Elliott said.
“Whenever you said good morning or whatever, her eyes and mouth just lit up
like a Christmas tree. She’s one of those children you want a house full of and
school full of.”
Harnett County Schools Superintendent Bob Beasley said that psychologists will
be at the school to discuss the deaths with students and staff and be available
should any need counseling.
West asked that anyone who saw or heard anything either on Cameron Hill Road or
Brafford Estates Drive call 893-9111.
Maggie
"This would be a great country if you could keep the Republicans out of the
bedroom and the Democrats out of the boardroom."--Lowell Weicker
glas
Arrest made in murder of 7-year-old
By Michelle Washington
Staff writer
JOHNSONVILLE -- Harnett County sheriff's detectives charged Quincey Marquies
Amerson on Sunday with the murder of 7-year-old Sharita Rivera (pictured).
Maj. Steve West said Amerson was arrested at the Sheriff's Department about
7:30 p.m. He was jailed without bond.
Sharita's body was found in the middle of Cameron Hill Road about 4:15 a.m.
Saturday by a woman who was on her way to the airport. Sharita had been run
over several times by the same car, said state Highway Patrol First Sgt.
Harold Thompson.
When officers learned Sharita's identity, they left the scene to notify her
family. Officers could hear a baby crying at Sharita's home, but no one came
to the locked door. Deputies broke in and found a woman's body. The state
Highway Patrol said Sunday that the woman was Patrice Rivera, Sharita's
mother. West said Sunday that the woman's body still had not been positively
identified.
Rivera's 1-year-old son, Armando Delshawn, was inside. He was not hurt.
Highway Patrol investigators traced car parts left at the scene on Cameron
Hill Road to a black 1990 Honda Accord, West said.
"We believe it was the vehicle used in the victim's death," West said.
Investigators found the car and other evidence in it on Sunday, West said.
He would not say what the evidence was. The car was impounded. The car
belonged to an acquaintance of Amerson's, but detectives believe that
Amerson was driving it, West said.
Amerson is 24 and lives at 112 Travis Drive, about a block from Patrice
Rivera's home. West said that Amerson was an acquaintance of Patrice Rivera.
Amerson is unemployed, West said. He did not know if Amerson had a criminal
record.
West said detectives have not gotten autopsy reports on Sharita and Patrice
Rivera, and he did not know the causes of their deaths. He did not know what
motive was behind Sharita's killing.
Amerson has not been charged with the death of Patrice Rivera, West said.
"We're still investigating," he said.
Detectives searched Amerson's house after his arrest.
Amerson will make a first appearance in Harnett County District Court at 9
a.m., West said.
Maggie <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
news:19990808170828...@ng-da1.aol.com...
glas
Arrest made in murder of 7-year-old
By Michelle Washington
Staff writer
JOHNSONVILLE -- Harnett County sheriff's detectives charged Quincey Marquies
Amerson on Sunday with the murder of 7-year-old Sharita Rivera (pictured).
Maj. Steve West said Amerson was arrested at the Sheriff's Department about
7:30 p.m. He was jailed without bond.
Sharita's body was found in the middle of Cameron Hill Road about 4:15 a.m.
Saturday by a woman who was on her way to the airport. Sharita had been run
over several times by the same car, said state Highway Patrol First Sgt.
Harold Thompson.
When officers learned Sharita's identity, they left the scene to notify her
family. Officers could hear a baby crying at Sharita's home, but no one came
to the locked door. Deputies broke in and found a woman's body. The state
Highway Patrol said Sunday that the woman was Patrice Rivera, Sharita's
mother. West said Sunday that the woman's body still had not been positively
identified.
Rivera's 1-year-old son, Armando Delshawn, was inside. He was not hurt.
Highway Patrol investigators traced car parts left at the scene on Cameron
Hill Road to a black 1990 Honda Accord, West said.
"We believe it was the vehicle used in the victim's death," West said.
Investigators found the car and other evidence in it on Sunday, West said.
He would not say what the evidence was. The car was impounded. The car
belonged to an acquaintance of Amerson's, but detectives believe that
Amerson was driving it, West said.
Amerson is 24 and lives at 112 Travis Drive, about a block from Patrice
Rivera's home. West said that Amerson was an acquaintance of Patrice Rivera.
Amerson is unemployed, West said. He did not know if Amerson had a criminal
record.
West said detectives have not gotten autopsy reports on Sharita and Patrice
Rivera, and he did not know the causes of their deaths. He did not know what
motive was behind Sharita's killing.
Amerson has not been charged with the death of Patrice Rivera, West said.
"We're still investigating," he said.
Detectives searched Amerson's house after his arrest.
Amerson will make a first appearance in Harnett County District Court at 9
a.m., West said.
Maggie <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
news:19990808170828...@ng-da1.aol.com...
glas
Arrest made in murder of 7-year-old
By Michelle Washington
Staff writer
JOHNSONVILLE -- Harnett County sheriff's detectives charged Quincey Marquies
Amerson on Sunday with the murder of 7-year-old Sharita Rivera (pictured).
Maj. Steve West said Amerson was arrested at the Sheriff's Department about
7:30 p.m. He was jailed without bond.
Sharita's body was found in the middle of Cameron Hill Road about 4:15 a.m.
Saturday by a woman who was on her way to the airport. Sharita had been run
over several times by the same car, said state Highway Patrol First Sgt.
Harold Thompson.
When officers learned Sharita's identity, they left the scene to notify her
family. Officers could hear a baby crying at Sharita's home, but no one came
to the locked door. Deputies broke in and found a woman's body. The state
Highway Patrol said Sunday that the woman was Patrice Rivera, Sharita's
mother. West said Sunday that the woman's body still had not been positively
identified.
Rivera's 1-year-old son, Armando Delshawn, was inside. He was not hurt.
Highway Patrol investigators traced car parts left at the scene on Cameron
Hill Road to a black 1990 Honda Accord, West said.
"We believe it was the vehicle used in the victim's death," West said.
Investigators found the car and other evidence in it on Sunday, West said.
He would not say what the evidence was. The car was impounded. The car
belonged to an acquaintance of Amerson's, but detectives believe that
Amerson was driving it, West said.
Amerson is 24 and lives at 112 Travis Drive, about a block from Patrice
Rivera's home. West said that Amerson was an acquaintance of Patrice Rivera.
Amerson is unemployed, West said. He did not know if Amerson had a criminal
record.
West said detectives have not gotten autopsy reports on Sharita and Patrice
Rivera, and he did not know the causes of their deaths. He did not know what
motive was behind Sharita's killing.
Amerson has not been charged with the death of Patrice Rivera, West said.
"We're still investigating," he said.
Detectives searched Amerson's house after his arrest.
Amerson will make a first appearance in Harnett County District Court at 9
a.m., West said.
Maggie <maggi...@aol.comSPAMBLOC> wrote in message
news:19990808170828...@ng-da1.aol.com...