In the early hours of Labor Day weekend in 2011, the life of 19-year-old Sachary Montanez was tragically cut short in her South Lawrence, Massachusetts home. A Black / African American female, Sachary was a recent graduate of Lawrence High School, Class of 2010, and was attending Hesser College in Salem, New Hampshire. She was known to enjoy basketball and dancing.
On that fateful morning of September 5, 2011, she was found shot to death alongside her mother, Milka Rivera, 39, and her 16-year-old brother, Max Ariel Montanez. The three victims were discovered together in one of the children's bedrooms.
The events that led to the discovery of this horrific scene began to unfold around 2:00 AM. Jose Luis Tejada, the longtime boyfriend of Milka Rivera, approached a neighbor and made a chilling confession. Speaking in Spanish, he said, "Take me to the police station, I just killed someone." The neighbor called the police, and when they arrived, Tejada repeated his admission, stating that he had killed his family because they were "talking down to him." He also told the officers that he had tried to turn the gun on himself but had run out of bullets. Tejada was then arrested at a nearby apartment complex.
Investigators found a. 357 Magnum revolver outside the back door of the family's apartment. The weapon contained six spent shell casings that were a match to the bullets recovered from the scene of the crime. Tejada, who had been in a relationship with Rivera for about five or six years and lived with the family, was subsequently charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
In August 2014, Jose Tejada was brought to trial in Salem. Despite a lack of direct DNA evidence linking him to the murder weapon, the prosecution presented a compelling case, which included his confession to the neighbor. The jury found Tejada guilty on all three counts of first-degree murder. The judge sentenced him to three consecutive life sentences, ensuring he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Tejada later appealed his convictions, citing insufficient evidence, issues with the suppression of his statements to the police, and allegations of anti-Hispanic bias during the jury selection process. In January 2020, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected his appeals and upheld the convictions. Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett stated that the court's decision ensured that justice was served for Milka Rivera and her children, Sachary and Max Montanez.
