Florida woman accused of stabbing pre-teen daughter to death because she believed the girl was 'having sex with men'
A Florida woman has been accused of stabbing her 11-year-old daughter in order to prevent her from having sex.
When Rosa Rivera arrived at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies on March 10, workers were witness to a gruesome sight. The 28-year-old mother had a self-inflicted cut on her arm and also had a purple pocket knife. Rivera's daughter Aleyda was seen in the passenger seat lying dead with more than a dozen stab wounds. According to court documents, Rivera had initially denied killing her child. However, cops later revealed that Rivera confessed to stabbing Aleyda as the girl "smiled" differently.
This led to Rivera thinking that her daughter was sexually active. However, Orange County Sheriff John Mina shared that it did not look like the child was sexually active. Mina shared with reporters, "Our investigation revealed that Rosa Rivera killed her daughter because she wanted to prevent her from having sexual relations with men, but we believe that part of the investigation is unfounded," according to News 13.
"We are looking into that, but don’t believe it to be credible, although we are still continuing the investigation," Mina added. Court documents have now revealed that at least one school worker was aware and saw signs that Aleyda was scared of her mother. According to public records which were released by the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office, a clerk at the Westridge Middle School recalled an incident which happened two days before the stabbing.
The anonymous clerk shared with investigators that the child's mother had gone to the school and pulled her out of the class. The clerk added that Rivera "seemed nervous" and when Aleyda saw her mother, she looked "scared" and was "cowering". The clerk said, "I've worked here in the front office for many years. I see a lot of things. I don’t know why they didn't call DCF because I felt something about this girl."
The school district revealed that they had no idea that anything was wrong. Orange County Public Schools spokeswoman Lorena Arias shared with the Orlando Sentinel in an email, "At no time did any of our OCPS employees witness any signs of physical or emotional abuse. Had there been any such abuse detected, DCF and the proper authorities would have been contacted immediately in accordance with our procedures."
Rivera is currently being held without bond on charges of second-degree murder and aggravated manslaughter of a child. She is also facing a charge of battery on a corrections officer.