GUILTY GA - Jorelys Rivera, 7, Canton, 2 Dec 2011 - #4

[tlcya]

Was it reported who showed LE the empty apartments?

no. that is why we were speculating that maybe RB was given that task and that is how the apartment may not have been discovered by Canton LE during the searches that were to take place on Dec. 3

 

[Trident]

That's my take on it.

he had to either leave it unlocked or somehow get the keys to it later. He's a maintenance guy -- he doesn't have a master key to every door in the complex. There is probably a keyboard or lockbox in the office with the keys to the individual units.

The maintenace guy to our apartment complex does have the keys to all the apartments, or a master key, not sure which. At any given time he could get into any apartment - he was even known to give key(s) to the carpet guys when they were laying new carpet in the halls. With that in mind, I put a chain lock that goes all the way through both sides, thus becoming another lock NO ONE has a key to.

 

[vlpate]

tl - it HAD to have been a fairly recent vacany and one that mgmt did NOT know about. He knew he was free to come and go (through the back) and that no one (other maintenance, vendors, mgmt) would come in there. It was only the 2nd of the month - you usually have to at least the 5th, if not the 10th, to pay the rent before mgmt starts to take action.

LOL, not in my communities - you pay by the second, late on the third, eviction process starts between the 5th-10th, period. We are 100% collected by the 5th every month :crazy:

Great point though, on maint. knowing about a vacant sometimes before management. Unless the apartment had been on notice, or the previous resident had been evicted, management wouldn't have known about a skip. However, 99% of residents who skip do not do it on the 2nd or 3rd of the month - they usually skip in the middle of the month when they realize they are not going to be able to pay the rent at all + all the late charges that accrue, and they don't want an eviction on their record. On the first couple of days they are just late.

He was comfortable in knowing that he "had this apt" and it would very much undetected for at least a few days, so he could carry out this sick crime.

I think the part he was comfortable with was that it was the weekend, and whether or not management knew about the apartment, no one works on vacant units on the weekend.

Also, I do think he carried her out and put her in the dumpster through that "back property line". He would have walked behind the buildings (it was probably already dark or close) and when he emerged from the last bldg along that back line, it was only a few more steps to the compactor. He threw her in

Wasn't this a trash compactor? Did he use his key to compact the trash at that point? I know we have big sticks to push the trash into the dumpster because people are too lazy to make sure it goes all the way in.

- then all he had to do was walk across the parking lot to his bldg. right there. Mike Brooks showed all the locations the other day on HLN and I knew right then that he had carried her outta there and to the compactor that night with little or no observation.

JHMO

I'm supposed to be wrapping presents, but could you give me that link...if you're busy I'll look it up in a few.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Here's a copy of the complex as I have it saved:

http://www.riverridgeatcanton.com/images/plans.jpg

she lived in bldg 9, the vacant apt / crime scene was in bldg 10 and RB lived in bldg 12.

To the right of bldg 12 in that parking lot is the compactor.

AFAIK that compactor was like a big huge dumpster. It had a collection bin (very much like a regular dumpster) that residents threw the garbage in - then there was the mechanical controls (that needed a key) and the compacted trash recepticle where it was compacted into was completely covered.

 

[tlcya]

bringing this forward. Not sure who gets original credit but it has been very helpful to me in discerning the lay of the land.

you can see that the route from the vacant apt/crime scene is wooded and would give ready access to the dumpster, followed by RB's apt. building.

I think you are onto something WOO, I thinik he carried her little body along the wooded route to where the dumpster was and then went on his merry way home, all completely unseen via the back/patio door, which he left unlocked for access later for cleanup but then due to the heavy police presence never got up the nerve to go back and do.

 

[ClaireNC]

Wonder if the Manager appointed "him" to escort LE to unoccupied Apts? to save LE time? Or perhaps he offered?

That was my initial thought when I read the timeline of the local police investigation. I imagine it was pretty hectic during those first few hours and the police were not yet aware of who they could trust and who they couldn't. They might have just accepted any help that was offered.

However, WOO also makes a great point about maybe it was the back/patio door that was unlocked.

 

[mck16]

bringing this forward. Not sure who gets original credit but it has been very helpful to me in discerning the lay of the land.

you can see that the route from the vacant apt/crime scene is wooded and would give ready access to the dumpster, followed by RB's apt. building.

I think you are onto something WOO, I thinik he carried her little body along the wooded route to where the dumpster was and then went on his merry way home, all completely unseen via the back/patio door, which he left unlocked for access later for cleanup but then due to the heavy police presence never got up the nerve to go back and do.

Do we know for sure there is a patio door on the back? Does anyone have any idea if a floor plan has been posted here?

 

[tlcya]

as far as vlpate's idea that the apartment may have been used for nefarious purposes prior to RB's nefarious one:

IF as we are sepculating, the aprtment was not a "known" vacant one as yet, then maybe the reason was that RB or the roommate intended to use it as a place for one or more of their friends to "crash" temporarily without the roommates mother being aware? The original purpose for its being an unknown vacant one (IF it was) may have been something like that but then RB realized that this was the perfect opportunity to act on some impulses he had been fighting.

 

[katydid23]

That was my initial thought when I read the timeline of the local police investigation. I imagine it was pretty hectic during those first few hours and the police were not yet aware of who they could trust and who they couldn't. They might have just accepted any help that was offered.

However, WOO also makes a great point about maybe it was the back/patio door that was unlocked.

And I think they were initially focused on any cars leaving the area and any wooded areas that she may be found in. I don't think they originally thought she was going to be found dead on the premises. I think they were looking for an abductor initially.

 

[tlcya]

Do we know for sure there is a patio door on the back? Does anyone have any idea if a floor plan has been posted here?

http://www.riverridgeatcanton.com/images/plans.jpg

There are three available floor plans in this complex. The link shows the floorplans in addition to the complex layout. I do not know which floor plan RB had or crime scene had.

All three appear to show a sliding door exit from the master BR

 

[Angleena]

Maybe that vacant apartment wasn't listed as vacant because it was possibly being held/refurbished for RB to move in to after he had finished a 30 day probation period working for the complex. Maybe RB did have the keys to that apartment. Maybe that is part of the reason LE is sure they have the right guy....because possibly RB was listed as the occupant. Just a thought.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

Mike Brooks on HLN was in the complex one day (the day LE was searching the vacant apt). He took a camerman and they were alongside the bldg and the camerman showed the back of the apt (with LE going in and out through a patio door). That's how I came to know about the "backs" of those bldgs being right up against the retaining wall of the complex. You could see the narrow walkway behind the bldg.

 

[Wise Old Owl]

The vacant crime scene was on the ground floor. IIRC RB's apt in bldg 12 was said to be on the 3rd floor.

 

[mck16]

Mike Brooks is the first person I heard mention, and it was early on, that the apartment was not locked. He based that on the fact that the apartment above it had a lock box or some sort of visible lock on it and this one didn't. On the search maybe the LE did not realize it was vacant because it did not have a visible lock on it and they thought it was occupied

On the initial search I cannot imagine that they were working from a list. Maybe so, but I would think they were going by what they were told by management, personnel, or their own observations. What we need is some information from them as to what they searched and when. Fat chance of getting that. jmo

 

[katydid23]

Remember when we all discussed what a reporter on a local station had said : That the child had gone to apt. #10 for the drinks.

Did that turn out to be valid info? Was the crime scene # 10? Was there a cooler or fridge in there with drinks,I wonder? Maybe he had told her if she ever wanted a cold soda to just come and knock on the door?

 

[bunky]

as far as vlpate's idea that the apartment may have been used for nefarious purposes prior to RB's nefarious one:

IF as we are sepculating, the aprtment was not a "known" vacant one as yet, then maybe the reason was that RB or the roommate intended to use it as a place for one or more of their friends to "crash" temporarily without the roommates mother being aware? The original purpose for its being an unknown vacant one (IF it was) may have been something like that but then RB realized that this was the perfect opportunity to act on some impulses he had been fighting.

IF that's true RB sure was confident in the short time he worked at the apartments.

 

[katydid23]

IF that's true RB sure was confident in the short time he worked at the apartments.

Confidence and Stupidity are sometimes confused for each other.

If he had gone to some park or mall and gotten a hold of a child and snuck back to the vacant apt., I think he would have had a chance of covering it up. But taking one from the playground was just STUPID. And of course EVIL and PATHETIC.

 

[bunky]

Remember when we all discussed what a reporter on a local station had said : That the child had gone to apt. #10 for the drinks.

Did that turn out to be valid info? Was the crime scene # 10? Was there a cooler or fridge in there with drinks,I wonder? Maybe he had told her if she ever wanted a cold soda to just come and knock on the door?

Until LE speaks up it's anyone's guess as to what was in the vacant apartment. The only confirmation about something found at the crime scene was about the mattress IIRC.

 

[mck16]

Remember when we all discussed what a reporter on a local station had said : That the child had gone to apt. #10 for the drinks.

Did that turn out to be valid info? Was the crime scene # 10? Was there a cooler or fridge in there with drinks,I wonder? Maybe he had told her if she ever wanted a cold soda to just come and knock on the door?

I have not heard that. I just always thought she went to her own apartment for the drinks. WOW. The bad apt. was 10 according to a post up thread. WOW again if true.

 

[vlpate]

We don't have any confirmation that this apt showed up as vacant or not. That was just me speculating. As for her son and RB - they were listed as living in an apt in bldg 12 - right across from the compactor - so I don't think that was the case.

As for the rest of what you said - you're right. Mgmt could have been keeping this one under wraps for any kind of varying nefarious reasons - but I don't think that was the case.

JMHO but I think this apt had jsut been vacated and that the tenants "skipped" and no one but RB knew about it. But that is JMHO.

Ah, sorry, I thought this was something we knew - I haven't been reading everything lately - life interruptus

Ok, so her son and RB were sharing an apartment, but RB said he was being compensated in some way for the apartment, yet, I would venture to guess the son already lived there prior to RB's arrival. So how is she making that work? I wonder if LE looked at the lease to see who is listed there. Not at all something a management company would be happy with. You are mixing friendship and work much too closely - makes them think if something happened she might try to cover it up to take the negative association away from her son - and herself as well. I would never have allowed my daughter to room with a staff member on the property - what happens when that staff member has to be written up or even let go? What manager wants her personal business exposed to the porter, or any staff member who regularly interacts with residents? Trust me, none that I know of.

I don't understand why the manager would have the porter take LE around to vacant units - makes no sense. She or the Lead would have done that if they had any experience in dealing with LE in day to day business on the property. Unless they had so many vacant apartments they had to divide them up for expediency, I find it hard to believe she left this task to her porter. Besides, this is a HUGE incident and all incidents on the property must be documented and submitted to management's corporate office - they aren't going to go to the Porter for any questions they may have later. Just not done.