A 51-year-old man convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the 1995 beating death of a 4-month-old baby girl may be released from prison in the coming months after he was found suitable for parole Friday, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
Reynaldo Rivas was 28 years old when he is said to have killed the infant daughter of his girlfriend by beating the child over the course of 12 days resulting in her death in February of 1995. The infant was left in Rivas’ care after her mother was incarcerated, and he is believed to have known how to care for the infant, who was found with multiple skull fractures after days in his care, according to prosecutors.
After a 16-day trial and three days of jury deliberations, a jury on Nov. 21, 1996, found Rivas not guilty of murder and guilty of voluntary manslaughter and felony child endangerment causing death to a child, according to prosecutors.
On April 25, 1997, Rivas was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison and was found not suitable for parole and denied another hearing for three years at his second parole hearing July 13, 2017. His request to advance his parole hearing was granted by the state Board of Parole Hearings, and District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said the board’s Friday decision is expected to go through administrative review and arrive on incoming Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk in the coming months.
Wagstaffe said the board found Rivas suitable for parole after a short hearing lasting only a couple hours, but noted he has no tolerance for those who kill infants and Rivas had no ability to deal with the baby’s crying.
“We feel he remains a danger to the community if he’s released,” he said.
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(1) comment
I’m incredulous regarding this vicious monsters crime and the parole boards decision. Both acts are an absolute disgrace!!
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.