Lawrence Rivera

Who is Lawrence Rivera?

Lawrence John Rivera is an American citizen, door-to-door salesman and convicted murderer sentenced to life imprisonment on 11 March 2011. He fled the United States before his capture to Amsterdam and then to Australia where he was arrested in August 2002. He fought extradition until 2008 when he was escorted back to the United States to face the charges.

Rivera murdered his co-worker and boss Kristina Garcia in 2002. Garcia's unburied body was found in open desert off of Yermo Cutoff Road May 22, 2002 — six days after her disappearance. Rivera, who had a brief relationship with Garcia, fled overseas to England, Germany, the Netherlands, and eventually Australia before he could be arrested and was eventually extradited in 2008 after years of appeals. US authorities discovered Rivera had fled the US in May 2002 after being questioned about the disappearance of Kristina Garcia, 26, the single mother of a toddler. Lawrence Rivera thought no one would find him when he fled to Australia.

Rivera tied up the Australian legal system, cost the government thousands and used police resources before his extradition by a team of eight US Marshals on a private plane in 2008. A private plane had to be sent when Rivera attacked the guards and spat on TV-crews and passengers and attempted to flee from custody in December 2007. The captain of the passenger plane refusing to carry Rivera on board due to safety concerns of other passengers. Rivera kicked out, swore and threatened to kill his escorts, the Australian Nine Network reported. The marshals flew with a Learjet and a group of elite tactical response officers from the US to get Rivera back to the USA. According to some information, Rivera had to be sedated during the flight back to the USA.