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Riverav.State

CourtSupreme Court of Georgia
Docket No.S23A0429
DecidedOctober 11, 2023
Reporter317 Ga. 398; 893 S.E.2d 696; 2023 Ga. LEXIS 215
JudgesLaGRUA, Justice. All the Justices concur.
Tags
CriminalFelony MurderRapeCold Case DNAStatute of LimitationRule 404(b)OCGA 24-4-413Tales From the CryptBodies, Burials & Blood EvidenceSex Crimes
Case Summary

Bridgett Parker was found raped and fatally stabbed in 1996; more than 20 years later, new testing of her sexual-assault kit matched Octavious Rivera’s DNA. A jury convicted Rivera of felony murder predicated on aggravated assault and rape, and he received consecutive life sentences. He argued that the indictment failed to plead a statute-of-limitations exception for the aggravated-assault and rape counts and challenged evidence of two other incidents. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed the felony-murder conviction, reversed the rape conviction, and remanded for resentencing. It held the rape count fatally defective because the indictment omitted the required limitations exception; the Court did not decide whether the period was actually tolled, and the aggravated-assault challenge was moot because that count merged into felony murder. The Court also held any error admitting the other-acts evidence harmless: DNA matched Rivera to the victim, a witness identified a similar car near the nightclub where Parker was last seen, and tire tracks at the scene were consistent with Rivera’s car.

Opinion

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