Paterson man arrested for October murder of 2-year-old – New Jersey 101.5 FM
PATERSON — A city man was arrested Wednesday and charged with the murder of a toddler earlier this year, but authorities did not immediately disclose the man’s relationship to the child.
Ricardo Rivera, 30, was identified through investigation and witness statements as a suspect Oct. 23, three days after Paterson police and the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office were alerted to the child’s death, according to a release from the prosecutor’s office Thursday.
The local medical examiner’s office determined the manner and cause of death, respectively, to be homicide by blunt force trauma, the release said.
Rivera is charged with first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and is currently being held at the Passaic County Jail pending a pretrial detention hearing.
The first-degree murder charge carries a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole; the endangering charge is punishable by five to 10 years in state prison.
Anyone with additional information about the case is asked to contact the prosecutor’s office tip line at 1-877-370-PCPO.
Patrick Lavery is New Jersey 101.5’s afternoon news anchor. Follow him on Twitter @plavery1015 or email patrick.lavery@townsquaremedia.com.
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