6-Year-Old Mur*ered While Saving His Sister From S*xual Assault

“I’ve been with the police for over 20 years and I’ve seen acts of bravery and heroism,” Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson said. “I don’t think any have come close to what that six-year-old did that night to save his sister’s life.”

Camden, NJ: During the early morning hours of September 12, 2012, Osvaldo Riveria smoked wet, a marijuana joint laced with PCP.  Under the influence, he grabbed a butcher knife from the kitchen and scoured the neighborhood on foot, searching for a home to burglarize.

Riviera found the front door of the Andujar home unlocked and 12-year-old Amber asleep on the couch. Her 14-year-old sister and 6-year-old brother, Dominick, slept upstairs. Their mother was hospitalized and had left the 14-year-old in charge.

Amber screamed as Riveria climbed on top of her, placing the butcher knife to her throat and his other hand over her mouth. She quietened as Riveria whispered in her ear that he would kill her if she made any more noise.

Riveria proceeded to sexually assault Amber. She was careful not to make any noises. Despite her efforts, Dominick woke up to hear a commotion downstairs. As he ran downstairs to check it out, he saw Riveria raping his sister. Dominick ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and ran into Riveria with the knife as forcefully as he could. He missed but continued fighting and stabbing Riveria, screaming for him to leave his sister alone.

Riviera stabbed Amber in the neck before throwing her on the couch, grabbing Dominick taking his knife, and using it to slice his neck open. His lifeless body fell to the floor. Osvaldo fled the scene to his mother’s house. She drove him to a secluded area in Camden.

As Riveria killed her brother, Amber escaped the house and ran to the neighbors for help. The neighbors called 9-1-1.

Police found Riveria hiding between a mattress and a wall alongside a road and took him into custody later the same day.

In 2014, Riviera was convicted of murder, attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, burglary, terroristic threats, felony murder-aggravated sexual assault, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, and two counts of weapons violations.

During his trial, Riveria admitted to sexually assaulting a 2-year-old in August 2012, the month before he raped Amber and killed Dominick. He was sentenced to 110 years in prison. Later, he was given an additional 15-years in prison after he was convicted of molesting the toddler.

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