Augusta Georgia: Metro:First capital murder trial for Rivera is set 02/12/03

First capital murder trial for Rivera is set

Web posted Tuesday, February 11, 2003

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Special section: The Serial Slayings

By Sandy Hodson
Staff Writer

The first of at least three pending capital murder trials for Reinaldo Rivera has been set for March 10 in Richmond County Superior Court.

A plea of innocent has been entered in Georgia courts on Mr. Rivera's behalf, although at his last pretrial hearing in April, he insisted he wanted to plead guilty.

Mr. Rivera, 39, was arrested in October 2000 after he tried to kill a teenage girl who barely survived a stabbing and rape, investigators said.Mr. Rivera, who survived a suicide attempt before his arrest, told investigators he raped and killed four women:

July 17, 1999: Melissa Dingess, 17, whose remains were found in Aiken County.

Dec. 4, 1999: Tiffaney Wilson, 17, whose remains were found in Aiken County.

Reinaldo Rivera has been examined for months by mental health experts hired by the defense team. ANNETTE M. DROWLETTE/STAFF

June 29, 2000: Tabatha L. Bosdell, 17, whose remains were found in Columbia County.

Sept. 9, 2000: Army Sgt. Marni M. Glista, 21, who died four days after co-workers found her unconscious at her Augusta home.

Contacted Tuesday, District Attorney Danny Craig and Peter Johnson, who, along with Jacque Hawk, represents Mr. Rivera, declined to comment on the case or the prospects for being ready to begin the trial March 10.

For months, Mr. Rivera has been examined by mental health experts hired by the defense team. Last April, Judge Albert M. Pickett ruled that prosecutors could have their own experts examine Mr. Rivera. In a court order signed Friday, Judge Pickett repeated that decision.

Mr. Rivera has been held without bond since his Oct. 13, 2000, arrest. He had been living in a middle-class North Augusta neighborhood and working as a tire inspector at the Bridgestone/Firestone plant in South Carolina.

Reach Sandy Hodson at (706) 823-3226 or shodson@augustachronicle.com.

--From the Wednesday, February 12, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle