A Bronx, New York, triple murder suspect is accused of stabbing his 5-year-old half-brother, whom he was babysitting on Saturday, his father, and his father’s girlfriend, even beating the victims with a pot.
The arrest of 19-year-old Jayden Rivera came Wednesday, days after the alleged murders of his father, 38-year-old Jonathan Rivera, his father’s girlfriend, 33-year-old Hanoi Peralta, and his half-brother, 5-year-old Kayden Rivera, because he has been undergoing psychiatric evaluation at Westchester County Medical Center, where he “made some spontaneous utterings that he did something bad, and that he killed somebody,” according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
After the slayings, Rivera allegedly went back to his mother’s home, where he lived, said he had been “hearing voices,” and said that he “thought that Mr. Rivera and Ms. Peralta were going to hurt him,” Kenny said. The suspect’s bloody clothes were allegedly found at his mom’s apartment.
Hanoi Peralta, Kayden Rivera (ABC 7/screengrab)
The NYPD said that 5-year-old Kayden Rivera was found at the Mott Haven stabbing scene early Sunday, allegedly “disemboweled” by his half-brother and babysitter. Cops have also said Jonathan Rivera was stabbed in the chest and Peralta, Kayden’s mother, was stabbed 15 times after the two returned home from a date. In addition, the victims were reportedly beaten with a pot from the kitchen, denting the pot.
Teen suspect in Bronx stabbing spree where three relatives were slain, including 5-year-old half-brother, charged with murder
Jayden Rivera checked into psychiatric ward after his dad, half-brother and toddler’s mom were found dead in family’s Bronx home
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) November 30, 2023
The murder and manslaughter case stunned family members of the suspect, who reportedly didn’t have a history of mental illness and was the first in his family to go to college.
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Neighbors who overheard the violence were also horrified in retrospect.
Police have charged a 19-year-old man with the murders of three family members, including a child, in their Bronx apartment.
— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) December 1, 2023
“There was this last thing, where the man went … ahh and it might have been the fatal blow and then it got quiet,” one reportedly told CBS New York.”
Another told Fox 5 that they opened their door and saw Jonathan Rivera stabbed to death in a hallway.
“I opened my door to go to work and the body was there,” the resident reportedly said.
Fernando Cruz, another neighbor, reportedly recalled hearing “a scuffle or something going on in the hallway.”
“I know I heard that, and then I heard a woman screaming,” Cruz added.
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