California Man Arrested for Killing Mexican Sex Workers in Serial Murder Case

A man from California has been arrested and charged in connection with a series of murders targeting Mexican sex workers, according to prosecutors. 

Bryant Rivera, 30, was apprehended in Los Angeles by U.S. Marshals and the FBI, based on a federal complaint obtained by The Daily Beast. 

The arrest was made at the request of Baja California's Attorney General, who stated that Rivera is wanted for arrest in connection with three femicides in Tijuana between September 2021 and February 2022.

Baja California Attorney General Ricardo Iván Carpio Sánchez referred to Rivera as a serial killer and stated that he will now face justice in Baja California. 

Previously, Sánchez mentioned that investigators believed the suspect resembled the notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.

Rivera Caught on camera with one of his victims

Rivera is currently in federal custody in the Central District of California, pending a detention hearing on Monday before extradition to Mexico. His Los Angeles federal public defender has not responded to requests for comment. 

Rivera's father, Candido Rivera, expressed shock at the arrest news, stating that they relied on him for transportation to doctor's appointments and the supermarket.

The criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles provides details about one of the three murders Rivera is accused of committing across the border. 

Prosecutors allege that on January 25, 2022, Mexican authorities received a report of a woman's body found at the Hotel Cascada in Tijuana's La Zona Norte. 

The body of Angela Carolina Acosta Flores was discovered in the hotel's bathroom. An autopsy later determined that Flores died from asphyxiation.

According to the complaint, Flores' mother informed authorities that her daughter worked as a dancer and occasionally as a sex worker at the Hong Kong bar. 

Flores had last texted her mother on the evening of January 24, stating that she was entering a hotel room with a client for thirty minutes. 

The next morning, when Flores' mother and her boyfriend went to the hotel to look for her, a witness informed them that the dancer was seen with a male client named Rivera, described as a "gringo" with light brown complexion, acne-scarred face, and a height of approximately 5'5".

Investigators learned from the bar that Rivera had been with another sex worker on the night of the incident but returned shortly after their encounter. 

The same worker stated that she saw Rivera leaving the bar with Flores afterward. 

Prosecutors allege that Rivera was observed leaving the Hotel Cascadas room before midnight and later crossing the U.S.-Mexico border on foot at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

While specific details about the other two cases are unclear, Mexican authorities previously stated that all three victims were found in hotel rooms and had engaged in sexual activity with the suspect prior to their deaths. 

Carpio credited scientific research and cross-border collaboration in combating crime for Rivera's arrest, emphasizing that nobody escapes justice in Baja California.

Source - The Daily Beast