A Bucks County man is accused of drugging his mother with fentanyl and then shooting and killing her inside a shed in Philadelphia. NBC10’s Johnny Archer spoke to a woman who knew the victim.
A man is accused of drugging his mother with fentanyl in Bucks County and then driving her to Philadelphia where he shot and killed her before leaving her body in a shed, investigators said.
Sean Rivera, 28, is charged in the death of his mother, 72-year-old Carol Clark.
Rivera diluted fentanyl in Clark’s iced tea Saturday night inside their home on the 500 block of Berwyn Road in Falls Township, according to investigators. While his mother was conscious but lethargic, Rivera placed her in her car and drove her to a shed of an old Quaker meeting house along the 4300 block of Waln Street in Philadelphia between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Sunday, police said. Sources told NBC10 Clark used to work at the location.
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Rivera then allegedly used bolt cutters to cut off any padlocks, placed his mother inside the shed, pulled out a gun and shot her multiple times. Police said he then closed the shed and locked it with one of the padlocks he had purchased.
Later Sunday morning, Rivera told his brother that their mother had died but would not say where she was, according to investigators. Rivera's brother then alerted police, according to investigators. Detectives later obtained warrants to search Clark’s home and vehicle where they found two firearms, a Home Depot receipt, a padlock, an empty padlock package and a set of bolt cutters, investigators said.
After further investigation, police found Clark’s body overnight and she was pronounced dead early Monday morning.
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Rivera was arrested and charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping to facilitate a felony, kidnapping to inflict terror or injury, aggravated assault, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of an instrument of crime, possession of a weapon, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, and recklessly endangering another person.
Rivera was arraigned and remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility without bail. It's unknown at this time if he has legal representation.
Investigators have not yet determined a motive.
Those who knew Clark said she once ran an afterschool program for children in Philadelphia. A vigil was held for her Monday night.
"It's hard to believe. It's quite a shock to all of us," Amanda Slocum told NBC10. "She's always looked out for the community with the kids and we always looked to her as someone we could go to and talk to when we were growing up."
There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.
