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Date of Sentence: 05/01/87
Circumstances of Offense:
Michael Rivera was convicted and
sentenced to death for the murder of 11-year-old Staci Lynn Jazvac.
On 01/30/86, Staci Lynn Jazvac
rode her bike to the store to buy school supplies. When she did not
return home, her mother began to search for her daughter. Jazvac’s
mother came upon a Broward County deputy sheriff, who had found Jazvac’s
bicycle. At this point, a police investigation began.
The police received a complaint
from a woman named Starr Peck because a man called her claiming
responsibility for the murder of Staci Lynn Jazvac. Peck claimed that a
man calling himself “Tony” called and told her about his sexual
fantasies and that he was wearing women’s clothing. Peck received more
than 30 of these calls from “Tony.”
The last call Peck received was
shortly after the murder of Jazvac. “Tony” told Peck that he had killed
Staci Lynn Jazvac. He explained to Peck that he had seen Jazvac getting
off a bike and wanted to expose himself to her. “Tony” told her that he
had put ether over Staci’s mouth and dragged her into the van where he
sexually assaulted her. According to “Tony,” he had not intended to
kill the eleven-year-old girl. Other women in the area reported
receiving similar calls from “Tony.”
The police determined that
“Tony” was Michael Rivera, an employee of Peck.
On 02/13/86, they
arrested Rivera on outstanding warrants and questioned him at police
headquarters. Rivera admitted to making the obscene phone calls to
Peck, but he denied involvement in the disappearance of Staci Lynn Jazvac.
During questioning, Rivera admitted that he liked to expose
himself to young girls. Rivera also confessed that he had exposed
himself to a girl pushing a bike but would not say what he did to her
because “I don’t want to go to jail. They’ll kill me for what I’ve
done.” He also admitted to an attack against Jennifer Goetz, an
11-year-old girl living in Coral Springs.
On 02/14/86, police found the
body of Staci Lynn Jazvac in a field located in Coral Springs. The
medical examiner determined that she had died as a result of
asphyxiation.
Additional Information:
Broward County Case #86-2598
On 07/10/85, Michael Rivera
kidnapped 11-year-old Jennifer Goetz. Goetz was on her way to the day
camp bus stop when Rivera grabbed her. According to Goetz’s testimony,
he picked her up from behind, strangling her, and carried Goetz behind a
nearby gazebo laying her on her stomach. Rivera threatened to kill her
when she started fighting against him.
Goetz testified that as she
began falling unconscious Rivera rolled her onto her back and placed a
beach bag over her face. Goetz was discovered by a witness, Tony
Leonardo, who had seen Rivera running away and went to investigate.
Leonardo said that he removed the beach bag from Goetz’s face and had to
shake her to receive a response. A doctor determined that if she had
been strangled any longer, then Goetz would have died. Several people
in the area reported receiving phone calls from “Tony” who stated that
he had molested a little girl and asked them to call an ambulance.
The police questioned Rivera in
a later incident, which occurred on 11/04/85, and involved Rivera
exposing himself to children and then chasing them. During police
questioning, Rivera denied committing the attack against Jennifer
Goetz. However, during a later interview about the case of Staci Lynn
Jazvac, Rivera admitted to the attack against Goetz. Rivera stated that
he had seen Goetz and decided to expose himself to her, but instead he
grabbed the girl and began to strangle her.
Rivera admitted to putting
the girl in the bushes and to covering her face with a bag, but he was
not sure what he was going to do next and was scared away by a man
walking nearby. Michael Rivera was charged with Kidnapping, Attempted
First-Degree Murder, Aggravated Child Abuse, and Aggravated Battery.
Rivera was convicted of Kidnapping and Attempted First-Degree Murder for
which he was sentenced to a Life sentence and a 25-year sentence,
respectively.
Trial Summary:
08/06/86 Rivera was indicted on the following counts:
Count I: First-Degree
Murder (Staci Lynn
Jazvac)
04/16/87 The jury found Rivera guilty of First-Degree Murder.
04/17/97 Upon
advisory sentencing, the jury, by a 12 to 0 majority, voted for the
death penalty.
05/01/87 Rivera was sentenced as follows:
Count I:
First-Degree Murder (Staci
Lynn Jazvac) –
Death
Case Information:
Rivera filed his Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on
05/20/87. The issues addressed included that the trial court erred in
admitting evidence about Rivera’s previous assault on Goetz, an
11-year-old girl, and that the death penalty was not proportionate with
the crimes that he committed. The Florida Supreme Court did not find
errors that warranted reversing the conviction or sentence and affirmed
the conviction and sentence on 04/19/90. Rehearing was denied on
06/22/90. A mandate was issued on 07/26/90.
On
10/31/91, Rivera filed a 3.850 Motion in the circuit court. The motion
was denied on 06/22/95.
Rivera filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States
Supreme Court on 06/10/94. The petition was denied on 10/03/94.
On
09/29/95, Rivera filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. The
issues addressed included that Rivera was denied due process, Rivera’s
counsel was ineffective, and that the death penalty violated the Eight
Amendment. The appeal was affirmed in part and denied in part due to
questions of ineffective assistance of counsel and remanded to the
circuit court for an evidentiary hearing on 06/11/98. Rehearing was
denied on 09/09/98. A mandate was issued on 10/13/98.
An
evidentiary hearing was held on 04/26/99 and 04/27/99 in the circuit
court. The motion was denied on 07/26/01.
On
09/29/99, Rivera filed a 3.850 Motion in the circuit court. An amended
motion was filed on 01/20/04. On 05/10/05, the motion was denied.
On
11/15/01, Rivera filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court.
Rivera argued that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The
Florida Supreme Court affirmed the appeal on 09/11/03. Rehearing was
denied on 10/31/03. A mandate was issued on 12/01/03.
Rivera filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Florida Supreme
Court on 08/12/02. The issues addressed included that the death penalty
is a violation of the sixth and fourteenth amendments and in violation
of the decision from Ring v. Arizona, and received ineffective
assistance of counsel. The Florida Supreme Court denied the petition pm
09/11/03. Rehearing was denied on 10/31/03. A mandate was issued on
12/01/03.
Rivera
filed a 3.850 Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on 09/30/05. The
appeal is currently pending.
Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us
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