Background: News footage of Emilio Rivera appearing in court (KSAZ). Inset: Rhiana Kemplin (GoFundMe).
An Arizona teenager was charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend after police said he entered her home and shot her while she was still in bed.
Emilio Rivera, 18, was arrested by officers from the Avondale Police Department on Friday, nearly one week after his ex-girlfriend, 17-year-old Rhiana Kemplin, was found with a gunshot wound to her head in the home she shared with her mother. According to court documents obtained by local Fox affiliate KSAZ, Kemplin”s mother told police that before she found her daughter, she saw a man in her apartment who aimed a gun at her early in the morning on Nov. 8.
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Police stated in the court documents that when Kemplin’s mother encountered the masked suspect, whom she believed was Rivera, she saw him pull the trigger twice and heard a “clicking” sound each time. The gun did not fire, and the suspect ran off. She immediately ran into her daughter’s room, where she found the teenager shot in the head.
According to court documents, the bullet entered the right side of her head and exited the left side, hitting her left hand. Kemplin was taken to the hospital where she was declared brain dead. She passed away that afternoon.
Kemplin’s mother told police that her daughter and Rivera had a tumultuous relationship and that she did not allow him in their apartment.
Police soon questioned Rivera, who lived a six-minute walk from Kemplin’s apartment. Rivera denied that he had a weapon, but he told police that his mother owned a firearm. He also denied having any involvement in her death but he admitted to being at the apartment the night before. Rivera told police that he went to see Kemplin at 11:45 p.m. and they had a fight after he accused her of cheating on him. He said the fight became physical, but he denied hitting her.
Rivera told police that he left Kemplin’s apartment after midnight, but returned to slash the tires on two or three cars in the apartment’s parking lot so Kemplin did not “have the freedom to easily drive around to see other men.” He later returned to slash more tires because he thought the initial couple of vehicles were “not enough.” Rivera admitted to slashing the tires on 14 cars and was booked into jail on 14 counts of criminal damage.
While Rivera sat in jail, police investigated his home and found clothing matching what Kemplin’s mother saw him wearing. They also found a 9 mm Glock 43 handgun in a purse belonging to his mother.
During a court appearance following Rivera’s arrest in connection with Kemplin’s death, authorities stated that ballistics matched the gun found at Rivera’s home to the one allegedly used to kill Kemplin.
Rivera was charged with first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. A judge set his bond at $1 million. His next court date is scheduled for Thursday.
