Husband, father sentenced for killing and dismembering Osceola County mother

[Daily Mexican]

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OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. —
A father and son were sentenced Wednesday for the 2019 murder of
Osceola County mother Nicole Montalvo.

Christopher Otero-Rivera and his father, Angel Rivera, were
found guilty on all charges in Montalvo’s murder. They had been
charged with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and
abuse of a human body.

Judge Keith Carsons delivered the sentence after Montalvo’s
family delivered heartbreaking victim statements.

"I cannot ignore the brutality of your efforts to cover up that
crime or the pain it brought the family of Nicole Montalvo," he
said.

Both Christopher Otero-Rivera and Angel Rivera were sentenced to
life in prison for second-degree murder. Additionally, they both
received another 15 years for dismembering a human body and
another five for tampering with evidence.

Both of their attorneys said they will appeal the sentence.

Sentencing arguments
The attorney for Christopher Otero-Rivera argued there was no
direct evidence that proved Christopher was the one who murdered
Nicole Montalvo. She implied it could have been Otero-Rivera's
father, Angel Rivera, who committed the murder.

The defense asked the judge to consider a "lawful" sentence,
which would be 23 years up to life in prison.

One prosecutor, Ryan Williams, touting the importance of
retribution, said "when the court makes sure criminals are
punished for their crimes, it keeps family members from taking
matters into their own hands."

Williams praised the Montalvo family for their dignity and
restraint through the trial.

He stated that both Christopher Otero-Rivera and his father,
Angel Rivera, thought they wouldn't be caught.

Williams asked the judge to impose a life sentence without the
possibility of parole for both.

"If this crime doesn't deserve a life sentence, what does?" he
asked.

Victim impact statements
Three of Nicole's family members took the stand to deliver
victim impact statements.

Christina Montalvo took the stand first. She described the
grieving process for her only sister as "never-ending."

Steven Montalvo was called next. He stated that he stood in the
court room with a sense of "terror and a loss for words."

Edward Montalvo was last to take the stand. He stated that he
and family members had previously pleaded with Nicole to leave
Christopher.

He described the pain of listening to his mother cry after years
of begging Nicole to leave Christopher, for her "only to be
butchered and discarded like she never mattered."

The death of Nicole Montalvo
Investigators say Montalvo was dismembered, burned and buried on
their Saint Cloud property.

In April, Montalvo's family said they believe the verdict brings
accountability for her death and fulfilled a promise to her son,
who was 9 when his mother was killed.

"We promised her we’d get justice for her and we’d raise Elijah
in a safe healthy and happy environment," Steven Montalvo said.
"He’s been such an incredible kid these last 18 months, our
parents have done an amazing job."

Montalvo was last seen alive dropping off her son at the
Rivera's family property in St. Cloud.

Prosecutors said the men wanted Montalvo to disappear so they
could get custody of her son.

One juror told WESH 2 News the most compelling evidence was the
fact that Montalvo’s remains were found on the Riveras' property.

"If you can find it on the property like that something is
wrong," the juror said.

One crime scene technician testified that she saw tire tracks in
the yard and followed them back to a trailer that was covered in
debris.

When they moved the debris out of the way they allegedly found
what looked like human flesh.

"Immediately upon discovering flesh, the fleshy material, a foul
odor was present. A very strong odor, and in addition to that,
flies began coming to the area," said Emily Seda, an Osceola
County Sheriff's Office forensics investigator.

Eventually investigators said they found many more samples and a
detective took them to a private lab in Deerfield Beach, along
with samples from Montalvo's parents. Investigators said they
had a match.

Soon after, the sheriff's office said it heard from a man who
lives down the street. That man told investigators he saw people
digging with an excavator at a property around the corner.

"The excavator was being operated by one person and there were
other people standing around the, whatever, it seemed to be a
hole," neighbor John Hall Jr. said.

Neither Christopher Otero-Rivera or Angel Rivera took the stand
during the trial. The defense for Christopher Otero-Rivera
essentially put the blame for Montalvo's murder on Angel Rivera,
saying all the evidence pointed to him.

During the trial, Otero-Rivera's mother and Angel Rivera's wife,
Wanda Rivera, took the stand. She testified that she was on good
terms with Montalvo, who often left her son with the family.

"Did you exchange text messages often?" Wanda Rivera was asked.
"Would you say she even confided in you?"

"Yes," Wanda Rivera said.

Wanda Rivera said she found out from the news that Montalvo's
dismembered remains were buried on her property and doesn’t know
how they got there.

The brother of Christopher-Otero Rivera and son of Angel Rivera
also testified.

He had been expected to be an important witness because early in
the investigation, Nicholas Rivera told detectives he saw his
brother and father standing around Nicole Montalvo in a pool of
blood in the garage.

However, on the stand, he said he didn’t remember going home
from work at that time.

Prosecutors eventually got him to testify that he did wake up
late at night and saw his dad outside the day Montalvo
disappeared.

<https://www.wesh.com/article/husband-father-to-be-sentenced-for-
killing-and-dismembering-osceola-county-mother/37090203>