CA - Katrina Rivera, 30, & baby Josiah, Bakersfield, 8 Dec 2016 *Suspect suicide*

[MagnoliaMountain]

I've worked in a psych ward as a RN and if he's really "acting" he's doing a pretty good job, I think. He seems quite credible to me.

Doesn't make anything any better of course...Such a tragedy. When he mentions that he held his (dead) "first born son"...OMG.

 

[Rayemonde]

Sounds pretty insane to me... Plus if this had a "sane" motive such as jealousy, why on earth would he cut the dead baby out and then go running around with it?!

 

[Ontario Mom]

100% pure evil.

 

[yllek]

I've worked in a psych ward as a RN and if he's really "acting" he's doing a pretty good job, I think. He seems quite credible to me.

Doesn't make anything any better of course...Such a tragedy. When he mentions that he held his (dead) "first born son"...OMG.

He's definitely not right in the head and the jail does have him on suicide watch.

If he's schizophrenic and went off his meds, maybe it will come up in his hearing today.

Inmate Name: VELA, MANUEL DAVID
Inmate Number: SO2167621
Court Case: ** NONE **
Crime Case: SR16-33538
Date/Time Booked: 12/10/2016 09:48 PM
Arresting Agency: KERN COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Booked On: OPEN CHARGES
Bail Amount: NO BAIL
Anticipated release date for this booking: ** PENDING **
Next Hearing Date/Time: 12/13/2016 03:00 PM (set by Law Enforcement)
Next Hearing Location: Metro Division - 1415 Truxtun - Div/Dept
http://www.kernsheriff.com/misc/inmatesearch/Pages/default.aspx

I haven't seen much media reporting on this story yet, aside from the couple of local television news interviews.

 

[Rayemonde]

There seems to be a real double standard when it comes to men and women... When women kill their families in horrific ways the public are much more likely to believe that they are mentally ill, whereas when men do the same thing people say they are just evil and are faking mental illness.

I'm glad that people are much more aware of post-natal psychosis these days and women are more likely to get the help they need, but men suffer from psychotic mental illnesses just as often as women do, and that needs to be recognised too.

 

[yllek]

There seems to be a real double standard when it comes to men and women... When women kill their families in horrific ways the public are much more likely to believe that they are mentally ill, whereas when men do the same thing people say they are just evil and are faking mental illness.

I'm glad that people are much more aware of post-natal psychosis these days and women are more likely to get the help they need, but men suffer from psychotic mental illnesses just as often as women do, and that needs to be recognised too.

Yeah, I think that's true and I'm sometimes guilty of it.

Vela's heinous actions here could be a result of hallucinatory drug use or mentally-competent evil intent. Remains to be seen; I haven't come across any background information on him yet aside from his criminal record.

If he instead has a diagnosed mental illness which has contributed to his history of violence and now murder, it's a damned shame that he did not stay on his medication -- that's such a challenge for medical professionals and LE, especially with schizophrenics.

I wonder if he has a public defender. I don't think any defense attorney would have supported the confessional television interviews he's given since his arrest. Guess we'll find out at today's hearing.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Yeah, I think that's true and I'm sometimes guilty of it.

Vela's heinous actions here could be a result of hallucinatory drug use or mentally-competent evil intent. Remains to be seen; I haven't come across any background information on him yet aside from his criminal record.

If he instead has a diagnosed mental illness which has contributed to his history of violence and now murder, it's a damned shame that he did not stay on his medication -- that's such a challenge for medical professionals and LE, especially with schizophrenics.

I wonder if he has a public defender. I don't think any defense attorney would have supported the confessional television interviews he's given since his arrest. Guess we'll find out at today's hearing.

I agree. Actually I'm surprised any attorney, defense or prosecution, would have allowed that interview.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Can anyone tell me what time the hearing is?

 

[yllek]

Can anyone tell me what time the hearing is?

As of this morning, it was scheduled for today at 3 pm (PT).

 

[DogRescuer]

Just marking my spot here because I really want to find out if he's indeed clinically insane or a very good actor.

Rest in heaven, Katrina and Baby Boy.

 

[cvaldez1975]

im sure he did not have one assigned yet.

I agree. Actually I'm surprised any attorney, defense or prosecution, would have allowed that interview.

 

[cvaldez1975]

this case is really shocking and heinous sadly, I knew it would be something like this as soon as I heard he ran w the baby after the chase... but I was hoping different.

they showed his house and he said he killed her on the porch?

 

[yllek]

this case is really shocking and heinous sadly, I knew it would be something like this as soon as I heard he ran w the baby after the chase... but I was hoping different.

they showed his house and he said he killed her on the porch?

Yeah, he said he told her on Thursday, on the porch; he told her it was time for her to die and that she told him she knew that and was ready (my paraphrase).

Katrina was dead before she was reported missing, according to what Vela said and the news reported.

It was hard to follow his account in the first video posted upthread, where he talks about the baby. I thought he was saying that he killed Katrina, drove around with her body in the backseat for hours, and then decided to cut the baby out (then, in a later interview, said he bonded with his first born son before being apprehended).

The baby couldn't have lived inside the dead mother for more than a few minutes, so either he cut the baby out right after he killed Katrina or Vela was bonding with his dead son. Probably the latter, IMO.

In either case, the baby was pronounced dead at the hospital after Vela was arrested.

So very weird and so dang sad.

 

[cvaldez1975]

I think the baby was already deceased when he pulled him out. he was so wacked out of his mind maybe he didn't know or it didn't matter to him.

Yeah, he said he told her on Thursday, on the porch; he told her it was time for her to die and that she told him she knew that and was ready (my paraphrase).

Katrina was dead before she was reported missing, according to what Vela said and the news reported.

It was hard to follow his account in the first video posted upthread, where he talks about the baby. I thought he was saying that he killed Katrina, drove around with her body in the backseat for hours, and then decided to cut the baby out (then, in a later interview, said he bonded with his first born son before being apprehended).

The baby couldn't have lived inside the dead mother for more than a few minutes, so either he cut the baby out right after he killed Katrina or Vela was bonding with his dead son. Probably the latter, IMO.

In either case, the baby was pronounced dead at the hospital after Vela was arrested.

So very weird and so dang sad.

 

[yllek]

I don't know if today's hearing was postponed or not; can't find any information. But, the Kern County docs show that the Superior Court has him scheduled to appear tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. for probation/parole violation.

 

[LaborDayRN]

I don't know if today's hearing was postponed or not; can't find any information. But, the Kern County docs show that the Superior Court has him scheduled to appear tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. for probation/parole violation.

If in fact he is criminally insane, I wonder if they might be trying to get him somewhat stabilized on psych meds before the hearing. That could take days/weeks though......

 

[missgulfsouth]

People like this exist ... and there are more of them.

 

[steelman]

Any chance he's telling the truth, and that Mom was just as deranged and delusional as he is ? Hard to believe she could be around this guy for any length of time at all without knowing what a complete psychopath he is. I mean, it just oozes off of him. Or, was she simply super naive' and thought it was all just big talk on his part ?

 

[yllek]

IMO, that's possible Steelman. I haven't seen anything from her loved ones suggesting Katrina Rivera was into satanistic or terrorist stuff, or that she was prepared to die by his hand though.

She did have 2 previous restraining orders against him and he reportedly signed up for long-term counseling a week before the murders. It's possible that he really is schizophrenic and acted entirely differently on his meds and that's why she let him back into her life. Or, maybe she was like so many other domestic abuse victims who feel helpless and trapped. Don't know.

I've found no new reporting on the case and guessing that yesterday's hearing on the murder charges was postponed, this morning's probation/parole violation hearing went down, and LE/prosecutors are digging for as much background on Vela and Rivera as they can get before the hearing on 12/21/16 for the murder charges.

Anyway, here's the latest from the Kern County Inmate Records:

Inmate Name: VELA, MANUEL DAVID
Inmate Number: SO2167621
Court Case: BF166554 A
Crime Case: SR16-33538
Date/Time Booked: 12/10/2016 09:48 PM
Arresting Agency: KERN COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
Booked On: OPEN CHARGES
Bail Amount: NO BAIL
Anticipated release date for this booking: ** PENDING **
Next Hearing Date/Time: 12/21/2016 03:00 PM (set by Superior Court)
Next Hearing Location: Metro Division - 1415 Truxtun - Div/Dept FA

Charges:
# Counts
Type
Code/Section
Description
02 FELONY PC 187(A) MURDER: FIRST DEGREE
01 FELONY VC 2800.2 RECKLESS EVADING PEACE OFFICER
01 FELONY PC 245(C)>COP>2012 ADW NOT FIREARM, PEACE OFFICER OR FIREAM (NEW EFFECT. 4/12)
01 FELONY PC 69 OBSTRUCT/RESIST EXECUTIVE OFFICER
http://www.kernsheriff.com/misc/inmatesearch/Pages/default.aspx

 

[LaborDayRN]

Any chance he's telling the truth, and that Mom was just as deranged and delusional as he is ? Hard to believe she could be around this guy for any length of time at all without knowing what a complete psychopath he is. I mean, it just oozes off of him. Or, was she simply super naive' and thought it was all just big talk on his part ?

He may have been fairly well controlled on medications at one time. Perhaps he stopped taking them. ??? It is hard to understand someone being involved romantically with this guy after watching those horrible videos.