Fort Myers-Area Man Convicted In 2019 Lehigh Acres Double Murder; Baby Found Alive Behind Dresser

A Lee County jury on Saturday found Roberto Perez Rivera guilty of killing a man and a woman during an October 2019 break-in at a Lehigh Acres home. Jurors returned guilty verdicts on two counts of second-degree murder with a firearm, first-degree burglary while armed, and petit theft. A six-month-old child was inside the house at the time and was later discovered alive behind a dresser, investigators said. Rivera left Lee County after the slayings and was later located out of state; he is scheduled to be sentenced next month.

The Office of the State Attorney announced the convictions following the trial. Court records from the Lee County Clerk of Courts reflect the jury’s findings on the two second-degree murder counts with a firearm, as well as the burglary and theft convictions.

2019 break-in and the child survivor

A report from the Lee County Clerk of Courts shows Rivera entered the Lehigh Acres home on Oct. 27, 2019. Deputies responding to a 911 call found two adults dead and the infant behind a dresser. The clerk’s docket indicates the case remained under investigation for years before the recent prosecution concluded, and court records list the charges now reflected in the jury’s verdicts.

Fugitive trail ended in Las Vegas

Prosecutors say Rivera had returned from Baltimore and rented a car after the slayings. He later tried to trade in the rental, claiming it was dirty. The rental company told him to clean the vehicle, and he was seen washing the car at a nearby car wash and washing his clothes at a laundromat, according to Gulf Coast News. He left Lee County soon after the murders and was later located in Las Vegas and taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Regional Task Force.

Sentencing next month

Rivera is set to be sentenced on Dec. 8, court records show. The Lee County Clerk of Courts docket lists the upcoming hearing and will record any sentence imposed by the judge.