Timeline of Alleged Murder

¹ Rivera’s Letter to Investigative Reporters, page 5:

“On my way to court to start my six months jail time, I detoured to the daycare center to say goodbye to my daughter Katelyn. When I got to the daycare center, the daycare person began to scream and yell at me that I wasn't allowed to see my child. The daycare had a history of abusiveness towards children and was under investigation at the time, so she had no room to talk. I took Katelyn and went to McDonalds, called Jennifer from there telling her Katelyn was fine, and with me.”

² Trial Transcripts, Jan 22, pages 51 - 52

Robert Rivera: “So I know Katelyn's baby-sitter's -- the daycare is around the corner. I just wanted to say goodbye to her. I go to the daycare. It's been so many times I drop her off, pick her up by myself, never no problems. The front door is locked. The side door is always open. There's a lot of kids, and they all want to go out the front door. So she locks the front door. So I go around the back. Approximately ten feet away is her husband and some other man and a boat. He knows who I am. He said they're inside. I turned the door, started to go in. Somebody slammed it back on me. And that's when I pushed it back. It was a daycare lady. And she told me you can't be here, this and that. And I said I just want to see my daughter. And she said oh, you can't go near your daughter, this and that, you can't say goodbye to her. I didn't like the lady, to begin with, that much. But I was like who are you telling me I can't say goodbye to my daughter? So that's when I went to try to say goodbye to her. And everybody started yelling and screaming, so I picked her up, ran out the door.”

³ Trial Transcripts, Jan 22, pages 52 - 53.

Robert Rivera: “I go out to my car, take off. I didn't know what to do, so we went to McDonald’s, first. We went to the Wilmington McDonald’s. And after that we went to the zoo in Wilmington for a while.”

⁴ Letter to Investigative Reporters, page 5.

“Around five o'clock p.m. I picked up Michelle Lupe (using her car) and tried on four different times to drop Katelyn off to Jennifer while Michelle was with me in the car. Then four more times without Michelle.”

⁵ Trial Transcripts, Jan 16, page 88.

Questioning of Michelle Lupi:

“Q. Did Jennifer ever come out of the house?

A. Not all the way, no.

Q. Not all the way?

A. No.

Q. What did she do?

A. She would just come off the porch onto the porch and like behind the screen door and she just kept on telling him to hold on. I think she was going in the house to call the cops.”

⁶ Trial Transcripts, Jan 22, pages 54 - 55.

Robert Rivera: “I was telling Jen, come out, come out, come get Katelyn. She's like, hold on, hold on, waiting, waiting. I told her why can't you tell your brother to come out, send your mother, your father, everybody was home. So she never--none of them ever came out. I waited and waited. Four different times she came to the door. So we left. Michelle started, you know, I don't want to get involved, they'll think I'm an accessory, this and that. So I dropped Michelle off two blocks away. I come back again. Four other times, I tried again. She came to the door, waiting, back and forth. So she took off, went back in the house.”

⁷ Police Reports, 08/14/99 at 1130 hours.

“On Saturday 08/14/99 at 1130 hours, this officer received contact from Janet Smith. Smith advised that she confirmed that Rivera purchased $2.00 worth of gas at pump 5 at 1917 hours on 08/10/99 and $10.00 worth of gas at pump 5 at 2116 hours on 08/10/99. (Note: Trooper Todd Hersey PSP Avondale retained the original receipts from pump five and has turned them over to Lt. Peifer).”

⁹ Trial Transcripts, Jan 18, pages 76 - 77.

Questioning of Lt. Peifer by Prosecutor Reilly:

“Q. Now once you had questioned him [Rivera] at Upper Chichester Police Department, where did you go?

A. He then agreed to take us on the route. … Then we went by the Brandywine Art Museum, and I said is that the location you went to, and he said, no, it's further out. We continued past the stone overpass that's out by Longwood Gardens. We went past that to a Dairy Queen, where he said he made a U-turn through the parking lot, came back north on Route 1 to the firehouse, which would now be on the left side on the southbound side lanes. He then made an illegal left, past the firehouse, and he said there were fire trucks out. And he pulled in there and was walking around the fire trucks with Katelyn, because Katelyn liked fire trucks. He then went back to the car and then pulled over into the Longwood Gardens parking lot.”

¹⁰ Trial Transcripts, Jan 18, pages 120 - 121.

Cross-Examination (Questioning) of Lt. Peifer by Mr. Smith, Rivera’s attorney:

“Q. And then when you got there [to Longwood Gardens], he [Rivera] told you certain times that he said he was there, didn't he?  In other words, he said the time he was there, the night before when he was there and gave Katelyn to the people, right?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you checked on that and found out that Longwood Gardens is normally closed at that time, didn't you?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. But then you further checked and found out that that night, that would have been the night of the 10th, that there was a special event going on at Longwood Gardens and that it was, in fact, open that night, right?

A. That is correct.

Q. So when he said he was there at a certain time, normally the place would have been closed.  In other words, normally, on a regular routine day, not a special event, it would have been closed at that time?

A. Yes, it would have been closed.

Q. But on that particular night there was, in fact, a special event on that night and it was open at the time he said he was there with Katelyn?

A. That's correct.”

¹¹ Trial Transcripts, Jan 18, pages 125 - 126.

Cross-Examination (Questioning) of Lt. Peifer by Mr. Smith, Rivera’s attorney:

“By Mr. Smith:

Q. I have to -- one thing I didn't mention to you, when he [Rivera] first took you out to Longwood Gardens that night of the 11th, he told you that there were three big tour buses in the back that night; that he had seen big tour buses back there, is that what he told you?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. And you checked on that, too, didn't you?

A. We interviewed all the people on all three tour buses. And no one ever saw him or her out there.

Q. No, but my point is that you -- not what they saw. He said he saw three big tour buses there that night. You checked and found out that there were big tour buses there that night?

A. Yes, they were.”

Note: Rivera presumably did not enter the paid area of Longwood Gardens as other evidence indicated that he was broke and could not afford the $6 to $8 adult admission fee. The bus passengers would not likely see him unless they entered or exited while he was there.

¹² Trial Transcripts, Jan 18, page 16.

Questioning of Donna Kibbie:

“Q. Did he say at what time he gave Katelyn away to these strangers?

A. He said it was approximately 8:30 p.m.”

¹³ Police Reports, 08/11/99 at 1950 hours.

“At 2005 hours, Lt. Peifer advised that Rivera provided information as to what he did with Katlyn. Peifer advised that Rivera took Katlyn to numerous location throughout the day on Tuesday, but at sometime around 8.00p.m.-8:30p.m., Rivera met a female in the gift shop area of Longwood Gardens in Kennett, Pa. He spoke with this female and told her how bad of a mother Jennifer was to Katlyn. He then asked this female if she would take Katlyn and an" arrangement was made to meet in the back part of the parking lot outside of the giftshop and entrance. Once outside, they met towards the back of the lot and pulled next to each other next to a light standard. Rivera stated that the female was with a male who was driving the vehicle. Rivera described this vehicle as a qreen Caravan, tinted windows, with Md. tags. (the bay area tag with a herron in the middle). The female was described as 5’7" dark curly hair, dark eyes, thin 130 lbs., regular type glasses, late 20s, early 30s. The male was heavey set, late 30s, some side burns, with dark short hair. At this time, Rivera said he gave the female some info about Katlyn (shots, weight etc.), turned his head, gave Katlyn to her, and walked away (not looking back). The van then exited the lot and he followed shortly after.”

¹⁴ Trial Transcripts, Jan 18, pages 14 - 15.

Questioning of FBI Agent Donna Kibbie:

“Q. Did he describe to you how he and Katelyn parted when he gave Katelyn to these strangers?

A. When he was giving her to the strangers, he said she said, ‘No, Daddy.’ And then he just closed his eyes and gave her away.”

¹⁵ Trial Transcripts, Jan 18, pages 76 - 77.

Detective David Peifer: “As we passed the Sunoco Station at Route 1 and 202, Mr. Rivera pointed to a phone and said [077] that's where I spoke to you from. There was a call made about 9:00, 9:04, to the Helton residence. And he indicated that's where he made the phone call from.”

¹⁶ Trial Transcripts, Jan 16, page 111.

John McCabe, Gas Station Attendant: “He [Rivera] told me a story about how he ran out of gas and he needed to go home to his wife because she was worrying about him. So he offered me a watch as kind of collateral that he said he would come back and get, and give me the money on another day. At first I didn't want to take the watch, because it is kind of weird to take stuff like that but he kept pressuring me to do it so I believed his story so I took the watch and he pulled over to the gas pump and I filled him up with $10 worth of gas.”

¹⁷ Trial Transcripts, Jan 16, page 111.

Questioning of John McCabe, Gas Station Attendant:

“Q. Did you see the little girl?

A. No.

Q. No little girl in the car?

A. No.”

¹⁸ Police Reports, 08/20/99 at 1000 hours.

Excerpt: “It was learned from Trooper Hersey (Avondale PSP) that from Rt. 1 & Rt. 100 to 34 Woodduck Lane in Elkton is 37.9 miles and takes about 55 minutes one way.”

¹⁹ Police Reports, 08/31/99 at 1815 hours.

“On Tuesday 08/31/99 at 1815 hours, Lt. Peifer received additional info from Brandon Hickey thru the informant, indicating the location of the clothing of the child. The info was that Rivera threw the clothing out the car window along Rt. 202 in Delaware before you get to the Pep Boys in Tallyville.”

²⁰ Trial Transcripts, Jan 17, page 205.

Questioning of William Lively, Prison Informant:

“Q. Okay. Hold on for a minute, Mr. Lively. Now what was he -- what exactly did he tell you was the area where he threw the clothing out?

A. I remember him saying -- I believe just over the state line. If you pass near Concord Mall or some mall, if you pass -- I believe it was Pep Boys then he's gone too far.”

²¹ Trial Transcripts, Jan 16, page 111.

²² Trial Transcripts, Jan 18, page 102.

Questioning of Detective Peifer:

“Q. Did you actually speak to Lively on the phone?

A. Yes, I did.

Q. What did he say?

A. I said we're not finding anything in this area down here, this map. ... He goes well -- he also told me that he had removed Katelyn's clothing prior to burying her so that her body would decompose faster and that when he was driving down 202 he threw the clothing out of the car, off the highway, in the area of the Pep Boys. If you go to the Pep Boys, you went too far.”

²³ Police Reports, 08/18/99 at 0800 hours.

Excerpt: “Upon arrival, Tom Whittaker approached Det. Reardon and advised that he is sure of the time Rivera came to his home on 08/10/99. Whittaker advised that he now recalls that he was at his neighbor's house (Joe) visitinq on Tuesdav 08/10/99. Joe's wife teaches a class in Elkton and leaves class and 2200 hours. It takes her 10 minute (or so) to get home. Whittaker advised that when Joe's wife got home, he left and walked to his house. Upon his arriyal at his home, Rivera arrives, which is about 2215 hours. This info was provided to Lt. Peifer for Time Line purposes.”

²⁴ Trial Transcripts, Jan 16, page 137.

Questioning of Thomas Whittaker:

“Q. Now tell he what happened when you and the Defendant went out to the boathouse?

A. We went out to the boathouse, went in the back. I had my tool box back there, we went into the back of the boathouse and I sat down and grabbed, I had a little bottle of liquor in there and I pulled that out and took a swallow, and offered the Defendant some and he drank.

Q. Were the two of you talking to one another?

A. Yes sir.”

²⁵ Trial Transcripts, Jan 16, page 153.

Questioning of Thomas Whittaker:

“Q. Now that night, the night of August 10 when Robert Rivera showed up. You testified on direct examination that you went into this little back boathouse and you had a swallow of liquor from a little bottle that you kept back there?

A. Yes sir.

Q. And that he also had a swallow of liquor?

A. Yes sir.

Q. Do you remember talking to the police about that?

A. Yes sir.

Q. Did you tell the police that in fact you got pretty buzzed, I believe was the word you used?

A. I said I had a good buzz.”

²⁶ Trial Transcripts, Jan 16, page 138.

Questioning of Thomas Whittaker:

“Q. What happened then?

A. We left the boathouse and went back up front.

Q. Back up into the cottage?

A. Yes sir.

Q. What happened then?

A. We sat up a little bit and threw him a blanket and pillow for the couch and went back and got undressed and we all went to bed.

Q. And the Defendant you said slept on the couch?

A. Yes sir.

Q. About what time did you go to bed, do you know?

A. Not really, I would say between 11 and 11:30.”

²⁷ Trial Transcripts, Jan 16, pages 138 - 139.

Question of Thomas Whittaker:

“Q. What time did you get up the next morning, August 11, 1999?

A. I would say about 7:30, 1 didn't have to [139] be to work until ten o'clock, so I would say about 7:30 I got up.

Q. Was the Defendant awake when you got up?

A. No, he was sleeping on the couch still.

Q. Still asleep. So when you got up what did you do?

A. I got up, went out back. I got my clothes, went out back to use the bathroom. Well I dropped my clothes off at the shower. Went to use the bathroom and then hopped in the shower.”

²⁸ Police Reports, 08/12/99 at 2200 hours.

“Tom gets up about 0800 hours and notices Rivera is still sleeping. Tom takes a shower and by the time he is finished, Rivera is up and out of the residence. At this time, Tom hears a door slamp and looks outside. He thought Rivera was sneaking away, but he then noticed that the door to his outhouse was closed and it is always open when no one is inside. Tom assumed Rivera was inside the outhouse. Rivera was gone for 20 to 30 minutes, but he then returns to the inside of the residence. Rivera talks some and then leaves about 0900 hours.”

²⁹ Police Reports, 08/12/99 at 2200 hours. Same as previous footnote.

³⁰ Police Reports, 08/11/99 at 1035 hours.

“On Wednesday 08/11/99 at 1035 hours, Ptlm. Gray (UCPD) received a landline call from Jennifer Helton. Jennifer advised Gray that she just received a phone call from Rivera. … Jennifer completed a *57 trace on this call and then *69’d the call. She advised that the *69 came back to 302-798-4920. At this time, Lt. Harris … obtained an origin of the call at a payphone located at Tracey's Gulf of United Teleconnect address: 11 Grandview Ave. in Brookhaven. At this time, thinking that Rivera is calling from the Tom Jones resturaunt, a Brookhaven PD car is sent to that location. Upon arrival at Tom Jones, Brookhaven PD advised that said Tracey's Gulf is owned by United Teleconnect and the address is Naamans Rd. and Peachtree Rd. in Claymont De.”

³¹ Police Reports, 08/11/99 at 1035 hours. See previous footnote.

³² Police Reports, 08/11/99 at 1345 hours.

“Det. Reardon requested to speak with Rivera. He did breifly speak with Reardon. He said he was going to turn himdelf in, but he would needed to speak with Jennifer.”

³³ Police Reports, 08/11/99 at 1345 hours.

“At 1458 [1348?] hours Robert Rivera pulled up in front of 2623 Sharpless Ave. in the 95 red Ford Escort. He began angerlv honking the horn yelling for Jennifer to "come on" and get into the car. Det. Reardon requested Jennifer to stand in the door way of the porch and request that Rivera come into the house. At 1349 hours, Assisting officers arrived and boxed in Rivera's vehicle as he attempted to flee. Rivera was taken into custody without incident and placed into the rear of patrol unit #3.”

³⁴ Police Reports, 08/11/99 at 1500 hours.

“On Wednesday 08/11/99 at 1500 hours, Rivera indicated that if he could speak with Jennifer, that he might disclose the whereabouts of Katlyn. At 1520 hours, Jennifer Helton arrived at police HQs where she agreed to meet and speak with Rivera. Rivera was secured to a chair in the conference room of the Twp. building. Both Jennifer and Rivera spoke for nearly 1 hour 20 minutes. Det. Reardon maintained a post outside of the conference room door. Det. Reardon could not hear the conversation between Jennifer and Rivera, but Reardon could hear both Jennifer and Rivera crying at times and they were talking about the problems between them. Rivera appeared not to tell Jennifer anything about Katlyn or her whereabouts. On three occasions during the meeting, Jennifer opened the door to indicate that she was fine and asked for more time to talk. After about 1 hour, 10 minutes, Det. Reardon opened the door to check on Jennifer. At this time, Det. Reardon observed Jennifer standing on the same on the table side as Rivera in front of him. Jennifer turned to Reardon and advised that she was fine and everything was going ok. At about 1 hour, 20 minutes, Det. Reardon again opened the door and this time entered the room. Det. Reardon observed that Jennifer was now sitting on Rivera’s lap with her arms around him. Jennifer indicated that they are finished talking. At this time, Jennifer was advised to leave the room and speak with Lt. Harris outside. Det. Reardon then requested Rivera disclose the whereabouts of Katlyn. Rivera refused. He stated that in his heart, he knew Katlyn was in a safe place, being taken care of.”

³⁵ See Trip Testimony (Given by Lt. Peifer, Sept. 13, 2000)

³⁶ Police Reports, 08/12/99 at 1650 hours.

“On Thursday 08/12/99 at 1650 hours, SA Donna Kibbie (FBI) received a phone call from Jerry Whittaker (849 Ellston Rd. Aston, Pa. 610-558-2802 (W) 610-644-4665). Jerry Whittaker advised Kibbie that she is the mother of Tom Whittaker and mother in law of a Sissi Whittaker. Tom and Sissi live at 34 Wood Duck Lane in Elkton, Md. Jerry advised that Tom and Sissi at one time were the neighbors of Robert Rivera and Jen Helton while they lived at 2806 Chi Ave. #1. in Boothwyn. Jerry further stated that Sissi came to visit her this morning (8/12/99) and upon arrival, Jerry said to Sissi, "did you see what your old neighbors are up to (refering to an article in the Daily Times about Rivera taking Katlyn)? Sissi avised Jerry that Robert Rivera spent the night at her home on Tuesday night (8/10/99). At this time, SA Kibbie requested an Agent from the Wilmington FBI office to respond to Sissi and Tom Whittaker’s residence for an interview.”

³⁷ See end of previous footnote.

³⁸ Trial Transcripts, Jan. 16, page 145.

Questioning of Thomas Whittaker:

“Q. When is the next time that you went into the boathouse?

A. The next time I went into the boathouse was the day after, when the FBI agent that was down there.

Q. What did the FBI agent ask you to do?

A. The FBI agent asked me if he could go into the boathouse, and he asked me to look around to see if there was anything missing.

Q. So did you go into the boathouse?

A. Yes I did.

Q. And what did you notice?

A. Well I looked around and I noticed that my spade shovel was gone.”

³⁹ Police Reports, 08/12/99 at 2200 hours.

⁴⁰ Police Reports, 08/13/99 at 0935 hours.

“On Friday 08/13/99 at 0935 hours, investigators (including writer, CID Det. Peifer, Kelly, & Costello / FBI SA Kibbie / PSP trooper Todd Hersey) along with several search & rescue teams (including East Coast S&R and Delaware Valley S&R) responded to 34 Wood Duck Lane Elkton, Md. for the purpose of conducting a search for Katlyn Rivera. Said search included dividing the rear of the property at 34 Wood Duck into sections and searching each section methodicly using dogs. A grid search was also conducted to the rear of the property using 12 persons walking arm length apart looking for any disturbed earth. Furthermore, the search & rescue teams walked along the shoreline, which is directly across the dirt street from 34 Wood Duck Lane., approximately 100 feet away. At this time, these search did not produce any evidence for the presences of Katlyn Rivera.”

⁴¹ Police Reports, 08/14/99 at 1130 hours.

“On Saturday 08/14/99 at 1130 hours, this officer received contact from Janet Smith. Smith advised that she confirmed that Rivera purchased $2.00 worth of gas at pump 5 at 1917 hours on 08/10/99 and $10.00 worth of gas at pump 5 at 2116 hours on 08/10/99. (Note: Trooper Todd Hersey PSP Avondale retained the original receipts from pump five and has turned them over to Lt. Peifer).”

⁴² Police Reports, 08/17/99 at 0800 hours.

“On Tuesday 08/17/99 at 0800 hours investigators met at 34 Woodduck Lane in Elkton. Md. for the purpose of a search and rescue operation using a bloodhound dog and Rivera's clothing. Cpl. Erik Fogle (Maryland State Police 1 800 811 1981) conducted a search utilizing Rivera's clothing. The clothing was placed in the center of the yard. On two occasions, his dog went right to the outhouse at the rear of the yard. Cpl. Fogle advised that his dog did not show any interest in going into the wooded are behind the outhouse and he had to force his dog to go into the woods. Also on location during this search was the following; The FBI (Janet Crawford, Donna Kiddie, Greg Ault), CID (Peifer, Kelly, Costello), UCPD (Reardon), Cecil County Sherrifs (Cpt. Plummer, Det. Erwin), Maryland State Police (Fogle), and PA State Police (Trp. Hersey). The following Search & Rescue teams were also present; Del Val S&R, Palisades S&R, and West Jersey S&R.”

⁴³ Police Reports, 08/17/99 at 0930 hours.

“On Tuesday 08/17/99 at 0930 hours, Boulder Enterprises (Elkton, Md. 410-398-9060) was contacted for the purpose of cleaning out the outhouse. A Tim Bouldin responded and after cleaning out approximately 1.5 feet of waste determine that there was nothing but waste in the outhouse.”

⁴⁴ Police Reports, 08/19/99 at 1800 hours.

“On Thursday 08/19/99 at 1800 hours, investigators met with Delaware County Prison immate William Lively. Lively indicated he had info for investigators regarding Rivera and Katlyn. Lively's attorney was also present. Lively had conversations with Rivera in prison and stating that he feels the child is someplace in the area of the Whittaker's residence in Md. It was felt that Lively did not produce any info that investigators were not already aware of. Lively was told to keep speaking with Rivera and that the child must be found before any agreements with him could be considered.”

⁴⁵ Police Reports, 08/23/99 at 1000 hours.

“On Monday 08/23/99 at 1000 hours, Lt. Peifer advised Det. Reardon that he received informant information about a possible location of the missing Whittaker shovel. This info indicated that the shovel was at a construction sight in Md. near the Whittaker's.

⁴⁶ Police Reports, 08/23/99 at 1000 hours.

“At 1300 hours, Det. Reardon received info from Lt. Peifer that the shovel was location at a construction sight on Rt. 40 in Elkton, Md. just south of the Delaware state line. This shovel was positively ID’d by Tom Whittaker and was taking as evidence by Cecil County Sherrifs.”

⁴⁷ Police Reports, 08/31/99 at 0730 hours.

“On Tuesday 08/31/99 at 0730 hours, investigators responded back to 34 Wood Duck Lane in Elkton, Md. for the purpose of a more extensive search and rescue mission. Law enforcement on location were UCPD, CID, FBI, and Cecil County Sherrif's. Search and Rescue teams were Palisades, West Jersey, Del Val, East Coast, and Phila Police. This search consisted of the entire wooded area behind 34 Wood Duck, the roads leading up to Wood Duck, as well as the water shore line. The search netted negative results.”

⁴⁸ Police Reports, 08/31/99 at 1745 hours.

“On Tuesday 08/31/99 at 1745 hours, while inviestigators were still on location at Wood Duck Lane, Lt. Peifer received info from Prison Counselor Brandon Hickey that he (Hickey) learned thru an informant (William Lively) that Rivera placed the child in a pit about 100 yards from the rear of Whittaker's house at about 10 o'clock. He placed cinderblocks, leaves, sticks, and dirt on the body. Investigator sectioned off this area and searched same (using the dogs) with negative results.”

⁴⁹ Police Reports, 08/31/99 at 1815 hours.

“On Tuesday 08/31/99 at 1815 hours, Lt. Peifer received additional info from Brandon Hickey thru the informant, indicating the location of the clothing of the child. The info was that Rivera threw the clothing out the car window along Rt. 202 in Delaware before you get to the Pep Boys in Tallyville. Det. Reardon (UCPD) and Det. Kelly (CID) responded to this area and requested assistance from DSP, UCPD, and Bethel PD.”

⁵⁰ Police Reports, 08/31/99 at 1815 hours. See previous footnote.

⁵¹ Police Reports, 08/31/99 at 2050 hours.

“On Tuesday 08/31/99 at 2050 hours, the search along Rt 202 began with the assistance of Cpl. Pam Martin of DSP Troop #1, Ptlm. Mitchel (UCPD), and Ptlm Murphy and Ptlm. Fields (Bethel PD).”

⁵² Police Reports, 08/31/99 at 2050 hours.

“At 2145 hours, at Rt. 202 south at Helzberg Diamonds, Cpl. Martin located a yellow infant sock on the grass median about 1 foot from the left lane. Det. Welsh (CID) responded to take sock as evidence.”

⁵³ Police Reports, 08/31/99 at 2050 hours.

“At 2245 hours, at Rt. 202 south at Precission Tune, Cpl. Martin located a white size 4 infant sneaker (with a design on the front). Det. Welsh responded to take the sneaker as evidence.”

⁵⁴ Police Reports, 09/01/99 at 1110 hours.

“On Wednesday 09/01/99 at 1110 hours, investigators (Peifer, Kibbie, Reardon, Kelly, Costello) responded to 2623 Sharpless Ave. Upon arrival, Jennifer Helton was shown the sock and sneaker that was recovered on Rt 202 as evidence. Helton immediately identified both pieces of evidence as belonging to Katlyn Rivera Helton.”

⁵⁵ Police Reports, 09/01/99 at 1400 hours.

“On Wednesday 09/01/99 at 1400 hours, investigators responded back to Rt 202 for a more extensive search. UCPD (Reardon, Kennard, Mark, Lindelow), CID (Kelly), and the FBI (O'Dowd, Ault) participated in the search for more clothing. The entire stretch of Rt. 202 north and south bound from Genardi's to Precission Tune was searched with negative results.”

⁵⁶ Tape Recording Testimony, pages 47 to 76 of Sept. 13, 2000 court hearing transcript.

⁵⁷ Trial Transcripts, Jan. 16, page 148.

Question of Thomas Whittaker

“Q. Mr. Whittaker, there was a point after you had identified this shovel when you wound up in Delaware County Prison is that right?

A. Yes sir.

Q. When was that?

A. March of 2000.

Q. And why did you -- how did you wind up in Delaware County Prison?

A. It was an old violation charge.

Q. You violated your parole?

A. Yes sir.

Q. What was the charge?

A. It was an old DUI.

Q. And you wound up in Delaware County Prison?

A. Yes sir.

Q. Did you see the Defendant when you were in Delaware County Prison?

A. Yes I did.

Q. Where did you see the Defendant?

A. In the Law library.

Q. Why were you in the Law library?

A. I got me a job working in the Law library.”

⁵⁸ Delaware County Daily Times, 3-12-02

“A petition by Helton to have Katelyn declared dead and a death certificate issued will be decided at a later date because defense attorney Guy Smith said he received the paperwork on the matter last Saturday and has not had enough time to review the petition. [Rivera’s trial prosecutor John F. X.] Reilly explained the death certificate is a civil matter. Pennsylvania law states when a person is missing and has been exposed to peril, the court can make a decision on issuing the certificate.”

⁵⁹ Letter dated 9-24-02 (Excerpts from Letters)

“…the judge has signed the death certificate and now she [Jennifer] can get the money from the life insurance policy. The policy is from 25,000 to 50,000 dollars.”

⁶⁰ Delaware County Daily Times, 3-12-02

“Convicted murderer Robert Rivera yesterday stood shackled and silent before Judge Charles Keeler as he was sentenced to life in prison for killing his 20-month-old daughter, Katelyn Selena Rivera-Helton. Keeler added an additional total of 27 years to Rivera's sentence, for burglary and interference with child custody, to be served consecutively to the life sentence. Assistant District Attorney John F.X. Reilly asked for the consecutive sentences on the additional charges ‘to send the message that he should die in prison.’”

⁶¹ Delaware County Daily Times, 3-6-02

“William Lively has admitted that while he was behind bars, he fabricated documents and lied to get information that helped convict baby-killer Robert Rivera. Lively, 35, didn't collect any reward money. But yesterday he didn't get any added jail time either on unrelated charges of receiving stolen property and terroristic threats. Judge Robert C. Wright sentenced him to a minimum of six months in jail, which amounts to time served. Lively walked out of court a free man. He has already served seven months in jail and five months on home monitoring, according to defense attorney Lawrence Foti. Assistant District Attorney John F.X. Reilly, who prosecuted Rivera, was on hand to tell Wright about Lively's cooperation in the Rivera murder case. The defendant helped elicit incriminating information from Rivera in jailhouse chats that led police to the discovery of a shoe and sock belonging to tiny Katelyn Rivera Helton, whose body has never been found. Lively also provided a statement regarding a shovel which he quoted Rivera as admitting he used to bury his 20-month-old daughter's body in August 1999. ‘That evidence was crucial in the commonwealth's prosecution (of Rivera),’ Reilly told the judge.”

⁶² Delaware County Daily Times, 6-19-02

Article Title: “Katelyn’s Dead, Judge Decides.” Photo Caption: “A county judge yesterday legally declared Katelyn Rivera-Helton dead.” Text: “Helton moved to have Katelyn officially declared dead. The order signed by Judge Charles C. Keeler came six months after the child's father, Robert Rivera, 35, of Upper Chichester, was convicted of second-degree murder in his baby daughter's killing.” Note: The order signed on 6-18-02 was less than 5 months after Rivera was convicted on 1-23-02.