Brayan Rivas was a fifrteen year old from Georgia who would be convicted of the murder of Janina Valenzuela
According to Brayan Rivas wanted to join MS-13 and decided the best way to get in their good graces was to commit murder. Janina Valenzuela was walking to a store with a male when Rivas would confront them. The male was able to get away however Janina Valenzuela would be stabbed to death
Brayan Rivas would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison with no parole for twenty years
Brayan Rivas Case
The Cobb County District Attorney has announced that 18-year-old Brayan Rivas has been sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 20 years. The sentencing follows his guilty plea to malice murder and violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act.
Back on April 8, 2020, Marietta Police responded to a missing female teenager, 14-year-old girl Janina Valenzuela, in the Roswell Road area. Investigation revealed that Rivas confronted two teems, a male and Valenzuela, on their way to a store, attempting to start a fight and threatening them with a knife. The victims fled, with Valenzuela running into the woods behind 1805 Roswell Road, where Rivas, who was 15 at the time, then stabbed her to death.
Initially denying responsibility, Rivas later confessed in a letter from jail, expressing his intention to also kill the male. Further investigations revealed Rivas’ association with the MS-13 gang, with the motive believed to be his quest for gang membership. The murder weapon, a knife with the victim’s DNA, was found at Rivas’ residence.
“This was one of the most heinous and senseless murders that I have ever worked,” stated Assistant District Attorney Jay Winkler. The prosecution, led by Winkler and Jared M. Horowitz, ensured justice for the victim’s family. Kalpin Bipin Shah represented the defendant.