Man charged with murder in shooting death of wife, son

A 59-year-old Orlando man was charged Sunday with two counts of first-degree murder for the shooting deaths of his wife and 21-year-old son, according to the Orange County Sheriff ’s Office.

Deputies arrived shortly after 1 a.m. to the Whisper Lakes Estates subdivision and found the bodies of Jodie Rivera, 56, and Matthew Rivera with gunshot wounds inside a home in the 11600 block of Darlington Drive.

First responders pronounced both dead at the scene, the Sheriff ’s Office said.

An arrest affidavit said Smith Rivera drove to the scene as investigators searched the house, got out of his car and told a deputy, “I shot my wife.”

According to the report, Smith

Rivera also confessed that he shot his wife to a man who lives at the house but is not related to the family. The man — whose name was redacted in the arrest report — told investigators Rivera then fired multiple shots at him and chased him out of the house.

Rivera got in his car and drove away before returning after deputies arrived, the report said. He is in Orange County Jail and also facing a charge of attempted firstdegree murder with a firearm. high school alma mater and killed 17 students and staff.

A native of Coral Springs and graduate of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Moskowitz was first elected to the Florida House in 2012.

Moskowitz recalled being at the Coral Springs Marriott at Heron Bay where parents had gathered to learn whether their children had lived or died in the Stoneman Douglas shooting.

“All of that haunts me,” he said. “I didn’t hear crying. I heard screaming. It’s what has prepared me to do this. This stuff is not for the weak.”

Moskowitz said the massacre showed him the importance of government getting it right in heading off disaster. The FBI bungled tips that, if investigated, could have stopped the shooting.

As a state legislator, Moskowitz made an emotional floor speech that helped secure passage of landmark legislation that included Florida’s first gun control measures in two decades. The law increased the age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21, required statewide background checks for long-gun purchases and made it easier for law enforcement to seize guns from people suspected of being a danger to themselves or others.