An 18-year-old has admitted to fatally stabbing a 14-year-old girl in Marietta, Georgia, in order to join a gang. The suspect, Brayan Rivas, chased the victim into the woods and killed her. Rivas has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. WSBTV.com News Staff reported
An 18-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, has admitted to stabbing a 14-year-old girl to death in order to gain membership in a gang. The incident occurred on April 8, 2020. The police were alerted when the girl, Janina Valenzuela, went missing. It was later discovered that she was with her boyfriend when they encountered the suspect, Brayan Rivas, who was 15 years old at the time. Rivas initiated a confrontation with the couple and threatened them with a knife. The teenagers tried to flee, with Valenzuela running away and the boy taking Rivas’s bike to escape.
According to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, Rivas pursued the two teens but lost sight of the boy. He then chased Valenzuela into the nearby woods and fatally stabbed her. Valenzuela’s body was later found in a creek on Roswell Road. Initially, Rivas denied any involvement in the murder during an interview with the authorities. However, he later sent a letter from jail confessing to killing Valenzuela and expressing his intention to also kill the boy.
The motive behind Rivas’s actions was to secure membership in the MS-13 criminal street gang. Authorities discovered the knife used in the crime at Rivas’s home, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed Valenzuela’s DNA on the weapon. As a result, Rivas, now 18 years old, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in addition to 20 years for malice murder and violation of the street gang terrorism and prevention act.
Assistant District Attorney Jay Winkler described the murder as one of the most heinous and senseless acts he has encountered. He expressed his hope that the victim’s family would find some peace knowing that the perpetrator would spend the rest of his life behind bars.
In unrelated news, a grandfather has been charged with dealing Fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to authorities..