On a tragic evening in the Mariners Harbor neighborhood of Staten Island, 21-year-old Anthony Rivera was shot and killed. The incident, which occurred on March 24, 2016, also claimed the life of his 47-year-old mother, Idelle Rivera. The young man, who was Hispanic, was reportedly working on his car with a friend outside their home when the gunfire erupted.
A dispute in front of a residence on Roxbury Street escalated into a violent confrontation.
Anthony Rivera was shot multiple times in the head. Hearing the gunshots, his mother rushed outside to help her son, only to be fatally shot as well. A third individual, a 22-year-old friend of Anthony's, was also shot and wounded in the attack but survived. Both Anthony and his mother were rushed to Richmond University Medical Center, but their injuries proved to be fatal. Tragically, Anthony was scheduled to begin a new job as a security guard at that very same hospital the day after he was killed.
The New York Police Department quickly identified a person of interest in the case, 49-year-old Anthony Morales, a resident of the same Staten Island street. A manhunt ensued, and Morales was eventually located and apprehended in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, by a fugitive task force. During the arrest, Morales was shot and wounded by officers after he reportedly brandished a firearm. A 9-mm handgun was recovered from his vehicle.
Following his apprehension, Morales was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Anthony and Idelle Rivera, and attempted second-degree murder for the shooting of the third victim. In the ensuing legal proceedings, despite his lawyer's advice to proceed to trial, Morales chose to plead guilty to the charges against him. In May 2018, he was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison, receiving two consecutive terms of 20 years to life for the murders, along with a concurrent sentence for the attempted murder charge.
