Jorelys Rivera murder: Ryan Brunn pleads guilty, sentenced to life in prison

My first post about Jorelys Rivera can be found here:

• Jorelys Rivera found; 20-year-old arrested for her murder

Ryan Brunn pleaded guilty yesterday to the brutal murder of 7-year-old Jorelys Rivera, who disappeared last month while playing at a playground down the street. Her remains were later found in a neighborhood dumpster.

Yesterday Brunn stood up and told the court how he lured Jorelys into a vacant apartment to molest her.  He goes  on to detail about how he then went on to kill her, but I don’t want to go into those details here. Reading them once is heart-wrenching enough, let alone writing about them.

After he discarded Jorelys’ body, Brunn says he then hung out with some friends and smoked meth.

He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, his guilty plea sparing him from the death penalty.

I think it’s really important to report about cases like these. This was the case of a very seemingly normal 20-year-old kid who apparently is sexually attracted to children, and capable of brutal murder. I’m not saying everyone should go around being a paranoid nut  bag, but I do think people need to be more aware that these things happen, and that not every criminal looks like you would expect them to.

UPDATE: 1/19 12:45 PM CST

I just read a news article from 11Alive that says Brunn is a suspect in two different child molestation cases – you can read more about it here.

UPDATE: 1/19 7:05 PM CST

Ryan Brunn committed suicide in his jail cell this afternoon – http://www.11alive.com/news/article/223228/3/Ryan-Brunn-dead-hanged-himself-11Alive-source-says

 

SOURCES:

– http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/18/ryan-brunn-guilty_n_1212892.html

Jorelys Rivera found; 20-year old arrested for her murder

7-year-old Jorelys Rivera went missing on Friday, December 2nd, as she was playing at a local playground near the River Ridge apartment complex where she lived. A teenaged babysitter was watching Jorelys along with several other kids, when Jorelys headed back to the complex by herself to get drinks for everyone. She was never seen or heard from again.

On Monday, Jorelys’ body was found in a dumpster near the complex. She had been badly beaten and sexually assaulted. While the community mourned the loss of this beautiful little girl, a 20-year maintenance worker who lived and worked in her building was arrested.

Ryan Brunn, who had recently moved to the Canton, Georgia area from Dahlonega, was taken into custody yesterday and charged with Jorelys’ murder. He had apparently been under surveillance since Tuesday night, and by yesterday afternoon, there was sufficient evidence to arrest him. Brunn had been working at the complex since the beginning of November. At a press conference held shortly after the arrest, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan states that this is a “mammoth” case and that they are certain they have the killer in custody.

Brunn has no criminal record, according to members of his family. His brother, Connor Brunn, gave an interview to reporters yesterday, and said he does not believe his brother is guilty, and that Brunn had even been out searching for the little girl himself.

I have to say that Brunn’s arrest is rather shocking. When I first heard about Jorelys’ body having been found, I thought for sure the perp would be an older, creepy-looking guy, who was most likely a registered sex offender. The fact that Ryan Brunn was a seemingly normal 20-year-old makes it almost difficult to believe that he could be capable of such a heinous crime. Below is a screenshot of Ryan Brunn’s Facebook page (which has since been taken down). He seems like a popular well-liked 20-year-old, and states that he has a “wonderful life/family/friends.”

Also interesting to note is a comment Brunn made on his page on July 6, the same day as the Casey Anthony verdict came in.

Could one child murderer really be commenting about another child murderer?

I haven’t seen any confirmation of any evidence that police have against him yet, but different news outlets are reporting that Brunn killed Jorelys in a vacant apartment in the building next door, and that her mouth was duct-taped, and her hands and feet were bound with plastic ties.

Brunn is due in court later this afternoon for his arraignment, so there should definitely be more details released about his arrest shortly. He is currently charged with homicide and making false statements, but more charges are expected later today.

SOURCES:

– http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Man-Accused-in-Jorelys-Rivera-Murder-to-be-in-Court

– http://www.ajc.com/news/20-year-old-arrested-1253966.html?cxtype=rss_news

– http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/12/07/3576720/funeral-set-for-ga-girl-who-was.html