Teen wanted in baby's death arrested in Camden, N.J.By TIM ZATZARINY Jr., Gannett News Service

Posted Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 4:58 pm

Slaying suspect Randy Lopez-Rivas, 18, was arrested today in Camden, N.J.
VINELAND, N.J. - A man wanted in the beating death of his girlfriend's 3-month-old daughter was arrested this afternoon at a bus terminal in Camden, N.J.

Police say Randy Lopez-Rivas,18, killed the girl Tuesday, then fled by bus to Camden, where he was spotted by NJ Transit police about 1:30 p.m.

He was arrested on a murder charge, police said.
Lopez-Rivas, a Guatemala native, is an illegal immigrant and authorities feared he might try to flee the country, said Vineland Police Chief Timothy Codispoti.
Lopez-Rivas is not the child's father but lived with the infant and her mother, Guillermina Matias-Lopez, in an apartment at 16 S. Fourth St., police said.

About 11 p.m. Tuesday, police discovered the body of the infant, Kimberley Lopez-Rivas, stuffed in a trash bag hidden behind a washer and dryer in the basement. She was wearing a pink singlet and her body showed evidence of blunt-force trauma, police said.

The chief offered no motive for the slaying.

Police were initially called to the home about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday by Matias-Lopez, who had arrived home from work to find her child and her boyfriend missing.

Randy Lopez-Rivas, a day laborer, was last seen with the infant around 3 p.m. Tuesday. About two hours later, he was seen leaving the apartment without the child, according to Codispoti.

Police went to the homes of babysitters used by the couple and pursued other leads while simultaneously searching of the home.

A language barrier hampered the initial investigation, Codispoti said.

The infant's mother, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, does not speak English, he said.
Det. Lt. Thomas Ulrich said Lopez-Rivas was arrested without incident and that transit police were aided by photos of the suspect distributed by Vineland police.

The county medical examiner is conducting an autopsy of the infant today



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