A teenager who was 15 years old when he was charged with the murder of another juvenile has been given a life sentence for the crime, the Cobb District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Brayan Rivas, now 18, was given a life sentence without parole plus 20 years by Cobb Superior Court Judge Kimberly Childs after he pleaded guilty in court to charges of malice murder and street gang terrorism, the DA’s office said in a release.
Rivas was indicted in January 2021 on 12 felony counts and was on trial for the April 8, 2020 murder 14-year-old of Janina Valenzuela.
She was riding her bicycle at the Arbors of East Cobb apartments, accompanied by her boyfriend, who was walking with her, according to testimony presented at the trial.
The DA’s office said Marietta Police concluded that they were confronted by a male juvenile, later identified as Rivas (and who is identified as Brayan Segura in court filings).
Prosecutors said Rivas threatened them both with a knife and tried to start a fight with the other boy. Valenzuela ran away on foot and her boyfriend used a bicycle to escape, according to the DA’s office, with Rivas in pursuit.
The DA’s office said investigators determined that the girl was chased into the woods behind the apartments and was stabbed to death by Rivas. Valenzuela’s body was found in a creek at the back of the complex, according to police.
After Rivas was arrested, he initially denied responsibility, but in a letter he mailed from jail that was obtained by law enforcement, he confessed to killing the girl as part of an initiation rite with the MS-13 criminal street gang, the DA’s office said.
Prosecutors also said that the knife that was used in the killing and that was found at Rivas’ residence was confirmed by the GBI as having the victim’s DNA.
“This was one of the most heinous and senseless murders that I have ever worked,” Cobb Assistant District Attorney Jay Winkler said. “I only hope that the family has some peace knowing that the man responsible will spend the rest of his days behind bars.”
Related:
- Mother gets life for killing toddler found in Chattahoochee River
- Cobb assistant DA in Arbery trial named top Ga. prosecutor
- Cobb won’t retry Justin Ross Harris in son’s ‘hot car’ death
- Ex-Cobb Police Officer sentenced for assault, child cruelty
- East Cobb man sentenced for shooting at neighbors, police
- Cobb Police capture suspect in Atlanta mass shooting
Get Our Free E-Mail Newsletter!
Every Sunday we round up the week’s top headlines and preview the upcoming week in the East Cobb News Digest. Click here to sign up, and you’re good to go!
