Montalvo Family

Anyone who knew Nicole Montalvo would describe her as the ultimate people-person with an infectious smile, so her success in Orlando’s bustling hospitality industry came as a surprise to no one. She caught the eye of many men but remained focused on her work and saving money for a future of her dreams. Nicole Montalvo was “crushing it”. After a chance meeting with an old high school friend, Chris Rivera, all of Nicole’s independence and drive screeched to a halt. Just as charismatic and boisterous as he was back in high school, Chris hadn’t let adulthood steal his zest for life, something that drew Nicole in. Soon into their relationship, Nicole became pregnant so the two married in an intimate and private ceremony in Chris’ parents backyard.

Chris’ parents, Angel and Wanda, were regulars at the church that the Montalvo family attended. Religion was an important part of Nicole’s life, so knowing the Riveras’ devotion to serving the lord was comforting for the Montalvo family. In reality, the Riveras’ were far from pious. Chris’ dad, Angel Rivera, ran a tight ship, one in which he, and only he, was at the helm. Just because his son was no longer living at home did not exempt him from the law of the land from being enforced. The obedience of Angel Rivera’s rule by proxy then applied to Nicole.

Angel Rivera believed in women being subservient to men, and Nicole, being his daughter-in-law, was a second class citizen. “It’s just the way it is here. It’s cultural too. You know how it is”. Nicole, in fact, did not. Her Puerto Rican and Indigenous roots did not include subservience, so attributing Angel’s patriarchal rule to part of the Hispanic culture did not fly. Excluding Nicole’s family from the wedding was just the beginning. Soon after the couple welcomed a son, Elijah, into the world, Chris’s parents did everything in their power to alienate the loving Montalvo family. Spreading nasty rumors, threatening Nicole’s parents, it was all par for the course. A son, after all, is exactly what Angel wanted, and would be raised solely with Riveras values.

The Montalvo family endured the not-so–subtle behavior of the Riveras so they could maintain contact with Elijah. But soon after his birth, something seemed to have happened to Nicole. As her sister, Christina, remembers it, “It was like her light was dimmed. She was defeated. You could see it in her face and her body language. That’s when the lies started.” The bumps and bruises she had played off as results of her clumsiness had morphed into chipped teeth and broken bones. The fear of upsetting the controlling Rivera family was too great to overcome. Even with the pleading of her family, Nicole stayed with Chris.

In 2018, Nicole received a text from Chris asking for her to meet him at a nearby parking lot to help him jump his car’s dead battery. What she thought was a good deed turned into a near-fatal nightmare. At the meeting, Chris and Tony, a woman with whom he was cheating on Nicole, kidnapped Nicole. They beat her within inches of her life, stole her wallet, and drove her around the area in the hopes that she would be too disoriented to tell anyone where the crime occurred. But Nicole survived, and lived to report the assault to police. Chris was arrested, but posted bond and was back at home the same day. The only major punishment he suffered was being banned from communicating with Nicole except through a parenting app which they used to schedule visits with Elijah.

Nicole’s future seemed clear: stay with Chris, and life will continue to worsen. So, she took the first steps toward independence and moved herself and the couple’s son into an apartment of their own while Chris opted to move back in with his parents.

Chris and Angel felt their ability to control Nicole was slipping through their tight grasp. Killing her, in their mind, was the ultimate show of control. The last time Nicole was seen alive was on October 21, 2019 when she dropped Elijah off at the Rivera’s house. It would take nearly a week, a missing persons report, and multiple interviews with the Riveras before the tragedy was revealed: Angel and Chris Rivera murdered Nicole Montalvo and scattered her body parts around the property.

LINK: https://people.com/crime/after-fla-mom-is-found-dismembered-her-husband-and-in-laws-are-arrested/