Rivera pleads guilty in ‘house of horrors’ case

BLACKSTONE – The former boyfriend of Erika Murray, the Blackstone mother acquitted in June of second-degree murder but convicted of two lesser charges in the Blackstone House of Horrors trial, pleaded guilty to related charges in Worcester Superior Court Tuesday.

Ramon Rivera, 42, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery on a child with substantial injury; two counts of reckless endangerment of a child; two counts of animal cruelty; and one count of possession to distribute a Class D substance. He was

sentenced by Judge Janet .enton- alker - the same judge who presided over Murray’s trial - to a total of seven years behind bars, but was given credit for time served since his 2014 arrest, meaning he has about two more years to serve.

Rivera’s lawyer, Anthony Salerno, sought the plea deal, citing his client’s lack of criminal history and his good behavior while in prison.

Murray, who lived with Rivera in a squalid, vermin-infested home on St. Paul Street where authorities found the remains of three babies, was acquitted on June 20 of second-degree murder, but was convicted of two counts of assault and battery causing serious injury on her two young daughters and two counts of animal cruelty, after police found a dog and cat with severe flea infestations in the home.

She was sentenced in July to 6 to 8 years plus probation on two charges in the case. Because she had already served nearly five years following her arrest, she will get credit for time served plus 2 to 3 more years.

In her ruling acquitting Murray on the second-degree murder charge, .enton- alker said prosecutors did not prove that Murray caused the death of one of the babies whom she had been charged with killing and hiding in her home filled with rodents, dead animals, dirty diapers and trash.

Murray, 35, initially faced two counts of second-degree murder, but .enton- alker tossed one of the charges after prosecutors failed to prove one of the babies born in Murray’s squalid home was ever even alive. The judge ultimately decided the defendant was not guilty of murder for their deaths.

Murray and Rivera were arrested in 2014 after the babies’ bodies were discovered inside the closets of her filthy home on St. Paul Street in Blackstone. our living children were also removed from the home.

Murray’s attorney, .eith Halpern, said she suffered from mental illness and argued that there was no evidence she caused the babies’ deaths, suggesting they could have been stillborn.

The judge also found Murray not guilty of reckless endangerment of the two older children found living in the home, saying the woman’s mental state prevented her from understanding how bad the home’s conditions had become.

.enton- alker said Murray was emotionally abused by Rivera and had cognitive deficits and a personality disorder, sending her into a depression and her home into squalor.

The children first came to the attention of Blackstone police when a 10-year-old boy who lived in the house went to a neighbor and asked for her help to get a baby to stop crying. The neighbor went into the house and found a crying baby on a bed, covered in feces, and no adults around.

Police were called and officials removed four living children - the 10-year-old boy as well as 13-yearold, and 3-year-old and 6-monthold girls - from the home.