Man Who Allegedly Murdered Girlfriend And Her Son Held For Trial
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS)--Authorities say a murderer claimed he killed a young victim to spare him the horror.
Twenty-six-year-old Carlos Rivera was ordered held for trial this week for the murder of his girlfriend and her son in their Wissinoming apartment early last month based on an alleged confession to police. (see related story)
Prosecutor Lorraine Donnelly says the defendant Carlos Rivera told police he was high on drugs and alcohol when he went into a blind rage and killed 35-year-old Atlanta Deveney because she wanted to break up.
He then claimed he killed her 12-year-old son because he didn't want to see the boy without his mother.
According to the statement, he returned to the house later and set the bodies on fire in a closet.
He claims he set the house on fire two days later so authorities would find the bodies, but Donnelly says he was trying to destroy evidence.
The defense attorney, while not conceding anything, says Rivera has a significant history of mental illness.
