Judge: Man can’t be held in killing
Probation violation keeps Nicole Montalvo’s husband in jail
Nicole Montalvo’s estranged husband can no longer be kept behind bars in her killing, a judge ruled Tuesday, after prosecutors missed a deadline to file charges against him.
However, Christopher OteroRivera won’t go free yet — he will still be in the Osceola County Jail while he awaits a hearing on a probation violation related to the case.
“What happened here is just a rule of a criminal procedure. The judge did the right thing, the state did the right thing. They found that there was not a legal factual basis to proceed at this point … I tip my hat to them,” his lawyer Migdalia Perez said.
Montalvo’s supporters in the courtroom stormed out as soon as Circuit Judge John Morgan ruled.
“[Otero-Rivera] beat [Montalvo] continuously for 14 years, and she knew in the back of her mind that something like this was going to happen,” said Annmarie Collins, a friend of Montalvo’s who added prosecutors “failed her.” “And now he’s going to walk free with a smile on his face. So now justice is not served for Nicole.”
Lawyers representing OteroRivera had argued he should be released because the OrangeOsceola State Attorney’s Office failed to file charges against him before Nov. 29, 33 days after his first-degree murder arrest in Montalvo’s killing.
Morgan agreed and ruled in favor of Otero-Rivera. State law generally requires a defendant’s release if charges or an indictment are not filed within that timeframe.
Tuesday’s ruling does not preclude prosecutors from filing charges against Otero-Rivera
later.
“We have not missed any deadline within which we could have legally proceeded. Our prosecutors will continue to work with the Osceola County Sheriff ’s Office as this open and active investigation continues,” State Attorney’s Office spokesman Trei Johnson said in a statement.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.
The decision clears a hurdle for Otero-Rivera while he faces his other charges. He is accused of violating the terms of his probation and violating a no-contact order, both stemming from an October 2018 case in which he was accused of kidnapping and beating Montalvo.
The hearing regarding his violation of probation is scheduled for Jan. 9, but his lawyers, Perez and Kim LaSure, said they could file other motions before then.
Otero-Rivera is one of four members of his family suspected to have been involved in Montalvo’s death. His father, Angel Rivera,
also faces a murder charge as well as possessing firearms and ammunition as a convicted felon. Wanda Rivera, Otero-Rivera’s mother, was accused of tampering with evidence and lying to investigators.
His brother, Nicholas Rivera, has not been formally accused in connection to the murder but was charged with eight unrelated counts of possession of child pornography and is considered a person of interest in Montalvo’s killing.
Osceola County deputies set their eyes on the Rivera family shortly after Montalvo was reported missing. She was last seen Oct. 21 dropping off her 8-year-old son at the Riveras’ family home on Hixon Avenue in St. Cloud. Days later, investigators found her remains buried at the property and at a nearby vacant lot owned by Nicholas Rivera.
Very little is publicly known about the case, as documents in support of the arrests have been sealed by a judge. Sheriff Russ Gibson called it “probably the most gruesome murder scene” he has seen as a law enforcement officer.
Court records show Otero-Rivera contacted Montalvo in the days leading up to her disappearance. Otero-Rivera was also wearing an ankle monitor at the time as part of his probation; however, his whereabouts at the time she was killed and buried have not been made public.
Records also showed a pattern of physical abuse Montalvo suffered throughout her relationship with Otero-Rivera, with whom she was in the process of divorcing. She reported a number of instances to the Sheriff’s Office, including being dragged by her hair to the bedroom and being beaten so badly she had to wear a neck brace.
On Oct. 3, 2018, she called authorities after she said Otero-Rivera tricked her into driving him to a secluded area where he and a woman beat her and tried to break her neck “because he didn’t like that Nicole was talking to a friend via text and for taking his son,” according to an affidavit.
He served a short stint in jail and was sentenced to probation in a plea deal.
A funeral service for Montalvo will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in St. Cloud and is open to the public.