Image Source: The Daily Mail

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BY AUSTIN FAX
 

A Georgia woman was taken into custody Tuesday night for allegedly murdering her husband in Texas more than 40 years ago. And as a reporter for KRIV tells us-- this isn’t your average case.


“A woman suspected of killing her husband by pouring hot grease on him remains behind bars. 76-year-old Mary Ann Rivera appeared in court Friday morning. Houston police have been looking for her since 1970. That's when they say she killed her husband at their Moody Park home. She was arrested and charged back then but posted bond and disappeared with her three children, according to police.”

So how did they find her? WCTV’s Russ Russell says police found a way to add some heat to this cold case.

“The murder that occurred near Moody Park in November of 1970 was on the radar of the office’s newly created Cold Case Fugitive apprehension unit. Detectives had 600 cases to solve. (FLASH) DA sources tell us police used public records and the Internet to track Rivera down.”



The Daily Mail’s Paul Thompson addresses the question on everyone’s mind. Why’d ya do it Mary Ann?


“[Now] court records show that Rivera, a mother-of-three, claimed she had been the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. A police investigation at the time showed there were no reports of any domestic violence.”

Fugitive renegade? Cold-blooded husband killer? WALB in Georgia has the reaction of Rivera’s neighbors-- and they say that’s not the woman they knew.



REPORTER: “Neighbors say Mary Ann Rivera is a nice sweet lady. When deputies arrived at her apartment on Tuesday to arrest her for the murder of her husband Cruz Rivera in 1970, they were in disbelief.
NEIGHBOR: “Sweet little old innocent lady. She’d do anything for you. She cooked for us and was sort of like a mother to us.”