OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — The attorney for an Osceola County man named as a suspect in his wife’s death said the statements he made to deputies about violating a no-contact order were illegally obtained.
Christopher Otero-Rivera is scheduled to go to trial in January for accusations that he violated a domestic injunction by contacting his wife, Nicole Montalvo, days before her death.
But Otero-Rivera’s attorney, Migdalia Perez, argued in court Tuesday that the way the detectives got that information was illegal and the information shouldn’t be allowed in court.
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Perez said Otero-Rivera may not have known that by law he had the right to remain silent when it came to detectives questioning him.
In a 10-page motion, Perez said that on Oct. 23 probation officers came to the Rivera house unannounced and without a warrant to search the property, which is legal since Otero-Rivera was under their supervision.
The motion claims deputies showed up later that night asking about his missing estranged wife and that Otero-Rivera admitted to texting Montalvo days before she vanished. Investigators said phone records confirm that.
But the attorney claims by law having to cooperate with probation officers regarding probation does not extend to deputies regarding a criminal case.
“It was a catch 22 for him, it's a catch 22 for us right now and we are fighting on both fronts,” Perez said.
Otero-Rivera also had a first appearance on a new charge of not reporting a death. His bond was set at $3,000. Bail for his father, Angel Rivera, who is facing the same charge, was set at $100,000. Rivera’s lawyers have appealed that bond.
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