April 10, 2023
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Sean Rivera, 28, of Morrisville, Bucks County, has been charged with killing his mother, Carol Clark, 72.
A Falls Township man allegedly spiked his mother's iced tea with fentanyl and then shot her in Philadelphia this weekend, Bucks County prosecutors said.
Sean Rivera, 28, of Berwyn Road in Morrisville, was arrested and charged with homicide after police found his mother's body in a shed in Northeast Philly overnight Monday, authorities said. The victim was identified as 72-year-old Carol J. Clark.
The investigation began Sunday after a report of a domestic dispute between two brothers over the whereabouts of their mom, police said.
Rivera, who lived with Clark at the home on Berwyn Road, allegedly had informed his brother in New York that their mother had died. When the brother came to the property in Morrisville, Rivera refused to share the location of Clark's body, police said.
At that point, Falls Township police put out an alert for the public to help locate Clark.
When police executed a search warrant at the family's home, officers found two guns along with a Home Depot receipt, a padlock and an empty padlock package. Bolt cutters were found inside Clark's car, police said.
The investigation concluded that Rivera had allegedly diluted his mom's iced tea with fentanyl at some point on Saturday night. Clark was lethargic when Rivera placed her in her car and drove her to the shed along the 4300 block of Waln Street in the Frankford section of the city, police said.
Rivera allegedly used to the bolt cutters to remove padlocks on the shed before he shot Clark multiple times, according to a criminal complaint. Rivera then put Clark's body in the shed and locked it using a new padlock, which police opened using a key they received from Rivera, authorities said.
Rivera was charged Monday with criminal homicide, kidnapping to facilitate a felony, kidnapping to inflict terror or injury, aggravated assault, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, false imprisonment and related offenses.
Prosecutors did not provide any additional information or a possible motive in the killing. The investigation remains ongoing.
