‘Loving’ cover-up for killer father convicted of murdering his wife and three children in Pennsylvania
Carlos Montalvo-Rivera, 55, has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison 13 years after lighting a fireplace in his private home following the death of his partner.
A Pennsylvania man who built a fireplace in his home and killed his partner while his three children were inside has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison 13 years after the deadly crime.
Carlos Montalvo-Rivera, now 55, was charged with first-degree murder, arson and three counts of unlawful homicide in the December 2010 fireplace in which he claimed he was tied up by intruders.
Chosen during the sentencing, his story was described as “distorted”.
Prosecutors defined how Montalvo-Rivera took it upon herself to tie herself up in an effort to appear additionally the victim rather than the perpetrator of the gruesome murder.
Montalvo-Rivera continued to deny his involvement in the crime, but the jury saw through his lies.
Lancaster County District Judge Dennis Reinacker expressed his personal disbelief in Montalvo-Rivera’s fabricated story at the sentencing hearing, stressing that the jury’s determination to find him guilty further reflected their complete disbelief in his account of events.
“The lame story you came up with and stuck to just didn’t make sense. The jury didn’t believe you, and I think they should have,” Judge Reinacker said.
Montalvo-Rivera went to great lengths to make it seem like he was the victim, not the abuser, when he bonded after building his house on a fireplace in 2010.
He claimed that intruders broke into his home, killed his spouse, Olga Sanchez-Reiz, and set the house on fire; his three youngest children managed to escape from the hearth
In his fabricated story, Montalvo-Rivera claimed that intruders broke into his home, killed his partner, Olga Sanchez-Reiz, pictured, and built their house on top of a fireplace – but it was all a lie.
Assistant District Attorney Christina Wilson described the crime as a cold-blooded murder.
“This was an absolutely brutal and horrific crime involving multiple victims. It was cold-blooded murder. Although the defendant refuses to answer for his actions, he was found guilty by a jury of his peers,” she said.
Wilson expressed his satisfaction that after years of delay, the victim’s household has been served justice.
“Justice has been delayed, but the victim’s family has finally received it,” she said.
In his fictional storyMontalvo-Rivera claimed that intruders broke into his home, killed his spouse, Olga Sanchez-Reiz, and set the house on fire.
A nine-year investigation proved his claims to be false. He was subsequently arrested and charged in 2019
Olga Sanchez-Reiza died in the fireplace of her home after her husband doused the area with gasoline before lighting the fireplace.
He claimed the intruders were retaliating against his brother, who had cooperated with the Drug Enforcement Administration on an unrelated matter.
He claimed to have been asleep, only to be awakened by the smell of smoke and the sounds of his spouse arguing with a stranger.
Montalvo-Rivera mentioned that he was hit on the top and his consciousness was misplaced to reach tied up and home on the mantel about 45 minutes later.
A protracted nine-year investigation proved his claims to be completely false. He was subsequently arrested and charged in 2019.
Prosecutors laid out in devastating detail how Montalvo-Rivera murdered her spouse by pouring gasoline down the steps, which led to her bedroom earlier than setting the house on fire.
The couple’s three children, aged eight, 9 and 13 at the time, were still in the third-floor house. Incredibly managed to escape through the door on the primary floor and go up to the roof.
Montalvo-Rivera then tied himself up as much as he misled investigators.
Neighbor Jonathan Santiago was hailed as a hero after hearing the youths’ cries for help from the roof.
Together with various neighbors, he managed to prepare a rescue operation.
Santiago climbed onto 4 adjacent roofs to reach the two children trapped on Montalvo-Rivera’s roof and save their lives.
“Without the brave actions of the neighbor, the incident would likely have been even more tragic as he helped save the lives of two children by carrying them to safety from the burning building,” Lancaster Police Station said. in 2019.
After the fire, Montalvo-Rivera’s eight- and nine-year-old daughters were taken to the hospital in critical condition, while his 13-year-old son required additional medical treatment.
