Woman dismembered ‘to level never seen before’ by sick ex so he could steal son

There were many things that Nicole Montalvo regretted about her marriage to Christopher Otero-Rivera, but she was very thankful for one thing that had come out of their ill-fated match.

Their relationship had given her the most important thing in her life – her eight-year-old son.

After years of abuse from her abusive husband, Nicole was finally free of Otero Rivera, now 33.

In a horrible twist of fate, Nicole was forced to leave her husband of 33 years.

Otero-Rivera had been involved with other women and was fighting Nicole for custody. Otero-Rivera and his girlfriend at that time allegedly lured Nicole into a remote location.

Otero-Rivera allegedly beat Nicole repeatedly and then threw her to the ground, according to an affidavit. Nicole was severely beaten, gagged and had a rag forced into the corner of her mouth. Nicole claimed that her ex tried to break her neck, before releasing him from her grip and robbing Nicole.

Terrified and bleeding, Nicole claimed that her ex threatened to kill her if she went to the police. Nicole reported the incident to authorities, even though she was terrified by the threat of repercussions.

Otero Rivera was originally charged with domestic abuse and kidnapping. But she later pleaded to lesser charges, including battery and unlawfully possessing a bank card.

After receiving credit for time served, Nicole’s abuser spent just eight months in prison and was released on probation. He was fitted with an electronic tag to his ankle in order to keep track of him.

He wasn’t allowed to contact Nicole except through a parenting app – which allowed them to make arrangements for their son.

Nicole believed it was in the boy’s best interests to see his father. She was certain that her ex was trying to kidnap her son, but she was still adhering to the court agreement.

Loved ones said that Nicole had finally broken free from her husband’s control and wanted to move on. Her son was in school and she was earning money at a pizzeria. He was everything to her.

Friends confided that they believed Otero-Rivera and Angel Luis Rivera, his father, had plotted to seize custody of her son.

She believed that they’d tried to hack into her social media account to obtain a naked photo of her in an attempt to discredit her. What she didn’t know, was that they’d also offered people money to plant drugs on her – and worse still.

On 21 October 2019, Nicole dropped her son off to see Otero-Rivera at his parents’ house in St Cloud, Florida. The next day she was due to pick her child up from school, but she didn’t appear. Rivera, Nicole’s grandfather, picked up the boy and claimed that Nicole had asked him to.

Nicole was reported missing.

Rivera said that Nicole had texted him asking Wanda and him to take care of their grandson for a few more days. “I’m really sorry about everything,” It said.

“I should have listened to you. I made a bad mistake. I need you and Wanda to take care of [my son] for a few days until I get things figured out… I am with a friend that is going to help me through this. Tell [my son] Mommy loves him.”

However, Nicole hadn’t told anyone else that she was going away, and officers suspected the text was sent by someone else – but who? More disturbingly, records showed that Nicole’s mobile phone had never left her former father-in-law’s home.

A witness said that they’d seen an excavator digging at the property, but while usually Nicole’s son would join them working on the land, his grandmother had kept him away. It was a strange sight.

Four days after she vanished, investigators found Nicole’s body parts buried at Rivera’s house – and at another of the family properties.

Rivera rented an excavator which Rivera used to cover the body. The body had been cut into pieces and burned before it was buried. Otero-Rivera’s ankle monitor placed him at the scene as well.

Investigators believed Nicole had been ambushed, killed and buried at the hands of the father and son – because she was an obstacle to Otero-Rivera gaining custody.

They were both charged with second-degree murder and abuse of a corpse. They both pleaded not guilty
and hired separate legal teams – while they blamed each other for Nicole’s murder.

At the trial in April this year, the defence said that despite Nicole being found on the family’s property, the evidence was “circumstantial”. They also said that Nicole would have died on the spot if there had been more blood.

Otero-Rivera’s lawyer laid the blame firmly with his father.

“He was unquestionably the boss of the Rivera family,” The lawyer stated. “He controlled things. He manipulated things.”

The prosecution said that Otero-Rivera and his dad were willing to do anything to get Nicole’s son and wanted her to “disappear”. Witnesses testified that they’d been asked to plant drugs on Nicole. While two others told the court they’d been offered money to
kill her.

A crime scene technician described the gruesome task of searching a trailer that contained some of Nicole’s remains.

“Immediately upon discovering the fleshy material, a foul odour was present,” She told the court. “A very strong odour, and in addition to that, flies began coming to the area.”

The cutting up of the body had been so extreme that a medical examiner couldn’t say how Nicole was killed. She had been “dismembered to a level she had never seen before”, so the death certificate could only list the cause of death as “homicidal violence of unspecified means”.

After a two-week trial, the jury deliberated for just 90 minutes. Both men were found guilty on all charges.

Nicole’s family gave emotional victim impact statements during sentencing in July and shared how devastating her death had been. Nicole’s sister Christina said the grieving process is “never-ending”.

“When people ask me what happened to Nicole, I always say she passed away from an act of domestic violence,” She said. “It physically pains me to say my sister was murdered by her estranged husband… and his father.”

Nicole’s twin brother, Edward Montalvo, said the family had constantly begged her to leave her husband but when she did, she was “butchered and discarded like she never mattered”. It was deeply upsetting to them that Nicole’s remains were burned, and that several parts were still missing.

It was an especially disturbing case, and the judge agreed. “I cannot ignore the brutality of your efforts to cover up that crime – and the
pain that it brought to the family as they desperately searched,” He told Otero Rivera and his father.

They both were sentenced for the murder and 20 years each for the abuse of a body or evidence tampering charges.

Nicole’s son is now being raised by his maternal grandparents.

The little boy lost his mother who tried to provide the best possible life for him. He may find out that his fight to keep him alive ended in horrific violence.

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