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Riverview man sought in slayings of mom, sister

News Channel 8 photo by MICHAEL EGGER

Whether the deaths are suspicious is yet to be determined, said Hillsborough County sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway.

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By KATIE CORONADO | News Channel 8
and KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 17, 2009

Updated: 08/17/2009 11:41 pm

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Jovany Rivera

RIVERVIEW - The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is seeking a Riverview man wanted on second-degree murder charges in the slayings of his mother and teenage sister, found dead Monday morning in the apartment the three shared.

Sheriff's officials had said detectives wanted to talk to Jovany Edgardo Rivera, 28, and "make sure he's OK." But later, they said they were obtaining a warrant for his arrest. Rivera had been in an argument earlier Monday with his sister's boyfriend.

The bodies of Sara E. Rivera, 50, and Yesenia Rivera, 18, were found at 10118 Majestic Palm Circle, Apt. 203, in the Summer Palms complex in southern Hillsborough County. Maj. Harold Winsett said a family member discovered the bodies.

Winsett also said that Yesenia's boyfriend had called deputies Sunday evening when he could not find her. A deputy arrived and got no answer when he went to the apartment.

Later about 2 a.m., a deputy driving through the Big Bend-U.S. 301 area are saw two men having an argument, and it turned out to be Jovany Rivera and Yesenia Rivera's boyfriend.

The deputy reported that Jovany Rivera said the other man was bothering his sister, and the boyfriend said Jovany was preventing him from seeing his girlfriend. The deputy also noted that the boyfriend's demeanor was more aggressive and the brother was more calm.

When the deputy asked about Jovany Rivera's mother and sister, Jovany said they were not around.

The boyfriend told the deputy his car was at the Rivera's apartment, and the deputy drove him back to get the vehicle.

The deputy rang the apartment's doorbell then, but there was no answer.

Sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said deputies got a tip Monday morning to go to the apartment at the complex near Big Bend Road and U.S. 301.

Callaway said the sheriff's office would not comment on the cause of death or motive.

Investigators want to know whether neighbors heard what sounded like a gunshot, a resident at the complex said. "They asked me if I heard a gunshot or firecracker," said Charity Marshall, 15.

Mike Mosher, apartment complex spokesman, said there is a surveillance camera at the front gate. He wouldn't say whether there are other cameras in the area. He said the complex was cooperating with detectives.

Records show Rivera has been arrested six times since 2003 in Miami-Dade County on charges, including grand theft, burglary and possession of marijuana. Dispositions of those cases aren't clear except for 2003 and 2007 marijuana charges, where he paid a fine.

Anyone with information about Rivera is asked to contact the sheriff's office at (813) 247-8200.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story contained the incorrect spelling of Sara E. Rivera's name.

Reporter Samara Sodos contributed to this report. Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760.

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