Summary of Offense:
Guillermo Arbelaez was convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of five-year-old Julio Rivas on February 14, 1988. Arbelaez met Graciela Alfara, the victim’s mother, at a cafeteria where she worked as a waitress. After some time, Arbelaez moved in with Alfara, paying $150 a month for a room that he was to share with Alfara’s 19-year-old cousin. Arbelaez and Alfara became intimate soon after he moved in, but the relationship abruptly ended when Alfara accused him of touching one of her daughters inappropriately. Alfara ordered the defendant to move out by February 15, 1988. According to Arbelaez, he and Alfara were still in a relationship at that time, and were supposed to be married on February 15, 1988. On February 13, 1988, however, Alfara came home late with another man, and Arbelaez witnessed her kiss that man goodnight.
The next morning, while Alfara slept, Arbelaez took her son, Julio Rivas, from the home. Arbelaez stopped for a coffee at Alfara’s place of employment, and witnesses reported that he seemed calm and normal. There, Arbelaez spoke with an acquaintance telling him of Alfara’s infidelity and that he was going to do something so that she would never forget him. After leaving the cafeteria, Arbelaez drove to the top of the Powell Bridge where he pulled over and raised the hood of his car to make it look like he had broken down. Next, Arbelaez took the boy by the arms and threw him over the side of the 70-foot-high bridge.
The defendant quickly left the scene, abandoned his car in a neighboring area, and fled to the home of his friend Pedro Salazar. Arbelaez confessed to Salazar, stating that he wanted revenge against Alfara. Arbelaez flew to Puerto Rico, and again to his home in Colombia, where Miami detectives tracked him down on March 16, 1988. On April 11, 1988, he was arrested at Miami International Airport as soon as he cleared customs. During his trial, a medical examiner testified that Julio Rivas died from strangulation as well as drowning. The boy’s head had many abrasions and his body showed many large bruises. The medical examiner determined that these wounds were inflicted before he died. Alfara testified that her son did not have the bruises and abrasions on the morning he was kidnapped.
Arbelaez was sentenced to death in Miami-Dade County on March 14, 1991.
Bookmarks