An Arizona teen broke into hs ex-gifrlfriend’s home and shot her to death in her bed then went after the girl’s mother.
Emilio Rivera, 18, was charged Friday with first degree murder in the the death of 17-year-old Rhiana Kemplin a week earlier, KSAZ reported.
Court documents say after killing Kemplin, Rivera tried to shoot her mother but the gun misfired. The mother told police she saw a man she believed to be Rivera point a gun at her and pull the trigger twice, but the gun failed to fire. Rivera ran away, and she called 911 — then found her daughter dead.
“This was a domestic violence offense,” a court official said. “Mr. Rivera allegedly broke into the victim’s home in the middle of the night and shot her in the head. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to her hand, which is consistent with a defensive wound.”
Neighbors reportedly heard the gunshot and screaming.
Rivera told police that he had been in Kemplin’s room that night, saying they argued because he’d found evidence she had been cheating on him, even though court documents say they were no longer seeing each other. He said he left and came back to slash tires in hopes of keeping her from seeing other people, but he denied shooting her.
But police matched a gun found in Rivera’s mother’s home to the one used in the murder.
In addition to murder, he has been charged with attempted murder, KPHO reported. Police said he was arrested on unrelated charges on the day of the shooting.
Rivera was ordered held on a $1 million bond. He is due back in court on Thursday.
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[Featured image: Emilio Rivera/Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Rhiana Kemplin/GoFundMe]
