December 16, 2014
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tim Connolly 508-368-7236
Or 508-688-5565
WORCESTER – A Blackstone woman was indicted on two counts of murder today in connection with the deaths of two infants whose remains were found in a closet of her home, according to Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.
Her boyfriend was indicted on four counts of child abuse, Mr. Early said. The indictments were handed up by the Worcester County Grand Jury.
Erika Murray, 31, formerly of 23 St. Paul St., Blackstone, is facing nine charges, two counts of murder, two counts of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury, two counts of reckless endangerment of a child, two counts of cruelty to animals and one count of concealing a fetal death. She will be arraigned in Worcester Superior Court at a later date. She is being held on $1 million bail at the Western Massachusetts Women’s Correction Center in Chicopee.
Raymond Rivera, 38, formerly of the same address, was indicted earlier today, arrested in Uxbridge and arraigned in Worcester Superior Court. He is facing seven charges, two counts of assault and battery on a child causing substantial bodily injury, two counts of reckless endangerment of a child, two counts of cruelty to animals and one count of cultivating marijuana. He is being held on $100,000 bail. He is due back in court for a pre-trial conference on Jan. 14.
“This has been and will continue to be a difficult case,” Mr. Early said. “Our investigators followed the evidence where it led, we presented the case to the Grand Jury and resulted in these indictments.”
On Sept. 10, State Police Detectives assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office entered the home at 23 St. Paul St. looking for positive identification of two children, a 3-year-old and 5-month old who had been discovered neglected in the home by a neighbor. In the course their search they found the remains of an infant in the trash-strewn, vermin-infested home.
A second search of the home on Sept. 11 led to the discovery of two additional infant remains.
The 3-year-old and the 5-month-old, along with two older children, remain in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.