MA - Jeremiah Oliver, 5, found deceased, Worcester, 14 Sept 2013 *Arrest in 2023*

[Steleheart]

Looking for updates:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20160225/NEWS/160229456

<snip> "WORCESTER - While the police investigation into the death of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver of Fitchburg continues, a judge has set a Sept. 12 trial date for the boy's mother and her boyfriend on child assault, kidnapping and endangerment charges."

<snip> "Judge Frison also set a June 7 hearing on compliance with discovery, a July 12 hearing on pretrial motions and an Aug. 8 final pretrial conference. Jury selection for the Sept. 12 trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 8.
Mr. Black told Judge Frison there was still forensic testing to be done in the case at the request of prosecutors and that he had not yet been provided with the full autopsy report, which Ms. Sans said she expected would be available soon. Mr. Black also said there was a possibility that a grand jury could hand up a murder indictment or indictments before the Sept. 12 trial date."

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_30122862/judge-orders-videotaping-oliver-dna-test

A Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that a private DNA lab must videotape the forensic testing of four hairs found on the body of Jeremiah Oliver...

Neither side has asked for a continuance from the Sept. 8 trial date. However, according to the Telegram & Gazette, Sans said she was told the testing would take 12 to 16 weeks from the time the testing was done until the results would be available.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Elsa Oliver appears to need new attorney - September 9th

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/news/ci_30344885/elsa-oliver-appears-need-new-attorney

The attorney representing a Fitchburg woman on charges she faces in connection with the death of her 5-year-old son will soon recuse himself from the case because he has been nominated for a judgeship.

James Reardon Jr., who represents Elsa Oliver, was recently nominated to become a Superior Court judge. He has a hearing in front of the Governor's Council on Oct. 5, he said during a status review for Oliver Thursday at Worcester Superior Court.

Her trial was originally scheduled to start Thursday, but was postponed in August.

Both Oliver and Sierra are due back in court on Oct. 14 for a hearing. Reardon said he expects Oliver will have retained counsel by then.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Man charged with beating Jeremiah Oliver seeks to suppress evidence

http://www.telegram.com/news/20161017/man-charged-with-beating-jeremiah-oliver-seeks-to-suppress-evidence

The lawyer for Alberto L. Sierra, the Fitchburg man charged with assaulting 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver and two of his siblings, is asking a judge to suppress evidence in his client's case, including statements Mr. Sierra allegedly made to a jailhouse informant just days before authorities discovered Jeremiah's body in a suitcase off Interstate 190 in Sterling.

While no one has been charged in the death of the 5-year-old, whose remains were found April 18, 2014, the boy's mother, Elsa Oliver, 31, and her boyfriend, Mr. Sierra, 25, are awaiting trial in Worcester Superior Court on assault and reckless endangerment charges related to the alleged abuse of Jeremiah, his brother and sister. The death of the child, who had been missing since late 2013, was ruled a homicide and remains under investigation.

A hearing is scheduled Nov. 17 on a motion to suppress evidence filed by Mr. Sierra's appointed lawyer, Alan J. Black. Mr. Black is asking the court to bar prosecutors from using statements attributed to his client as evidence against him at trial.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Deputy sheriff admits he did not follow protocol when discovering body of Jeremiah Oliver in suitcase on side of highway

http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2016/11/alberto_sierra.html

Stephen Scanlon, who is also the deputy director of internal affairs for the sheriff's office, told Worcester Superior Court Judge Richard Tucker about various conversations he had with an inmate in March and April 2014 that eventually led to the discovery of Oliver's discarded body.

Alberto Sierra, the boyfriend of Oliver's mother Elsa Oliver, has filed a motion to suppress verbal and written statements he made to jailhouse informant Erick Perez, which led to the hearing Thursday when Scanlon testified.

The information that led Scanlon and his partner Mark Morrissey to Oliver's body came from Perez, who was in the Worcester County jail in March and April 2014, held in the same unit as Sierra.

The prosecution asked Scanlon if he had ever contacted State Police, the Worcester County district attorney's office, or the Fitchburg Police Department at any point during the time he received information about Oliver from Perez. He did not, he told the court.

ADA Cheryl Riddle asked Scanlon if it was fair to say that sheriff's deputies have no jurisdiction over unattended death cases.

Scanlon said "yes."

Riddle then asked Scanlon if it was fair to say that he did not follow the department's policies and procedures.

He said "correct."

Scanlon said he never promised Perez anything specific for his cooperation, but did tell him he could get help with issues in the facility if needed. But Scanlon said Perez came to him with a number of tips that "never panned out."

So that is why Scanlon said he did his own investigating when Perez came to him with a tip about the Oliver case.

"We get a lot of information and we attempt to verify and validate that information so we're not wasting anybody's time," Scanlon said.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Jeremiah Oliver case: Jailhouse statements deemed irrelevant in child abuse case against mother's boyfriend

http://www.telegram.com/news/20161122/jeremiah-oliver-case-jailhouse-statements-deemed-irrelevant-in-child-abuse-case-against-mothers-boyfriend

While no one has been charged in the boy's death, which has been ruled a homicide and remains under investigation, Mr. Sierra and Jeremiah's mother, Elsa Oliver, are awaiting trial on assault and reckless endangerment charges related to the alleged abuse of the 5-year-old and two of his siblings.

The hearing on the motion to suppress was to have resumed Tuesday. Before testimony began, however, Judge Richard T. Tucker called the lawyers to the sidebar and engaged in a lengthy private conversation with them.

The judge then announced that he was suspending the hearing because it did not appear to him that the statements the defense was seeking to suppress were relevant to the charges pending against Mr. Sierra. He said the statements at issue related to the death of Jeremiah and the disposal of his body and not to any abuse he or his siblings might have suffered while he was alive.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Alberto Sierra admits to abusing siblings and mother of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, whose body was found in bag near highway

http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2017/08/alberto_sierra_sentenced_for_a.html

Alberto Sierra, the man accused of helping his girlfriend dump the body of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver along the side of a highway in 2013, has plead guilty to assaulting Jeremiah's mother and two of Jeremiah's siblings. He has been sentenced to serve 6 to 7 years in prison for those assaults.

Jeremiah's mother, Elsa Oliver, is also facing assault charges for incidents involving Jeremiah and his siblings, but is facing an additional indictment for an alleged abuse that occurred about a year prior.

Other charges filed against the 26-year-old Sierra regarding alleged abuse of Jeremiah were dropped in court Tuesday in a move the Worcester County District Attorney's office said would not prevent future possible prosecution of Sierra for the homicide of Jeremiah.

http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Jeremiah-Oliver-Alberto-Sierra-Charges-Sentencing-437888463.html

The district attorney's office filed a nolle prosequi, or a formal notice of prosecutors dropping all or part of a legal action, on five other counts regarding Jeremiah Oliver, including kidnapping, assault and battery on a child, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and reckless endangerment of a child.

 

[Steleheart]

Jeremiah Oliver&#8217;s Mother Pleads Guilty To Abusing Her Other Children

<snip>
"WORCESTER (CBS) &#8212; The mother of a Fitchburg boy found dead in 2014 pleaded guilty to assault charges separate from the boy&#8217;s death.

Elsa Oliver changed her plea to guilty Tuesday, admitting to abusing her two other children. She pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless endangerment of a child and assault and battery."

<snip>
"Elsa was set to go on trial later this month on these charges, as well as others&#8211;including kidnapping and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

But Early&#8217;s office said those charges, which were related to Jeremiah&#8217;s death, were dropped &#8220;to allow the death investigation to continue and to eliminate any possible double jeopardy claim in connection with his death.&#8221;

 

[cvaldez1975]

I don't understand the hold up. is there not evidence?

 

[iulia]

Jeremiah Oliver’s killer still walking free

More than five years after little 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver was last seen alive, a woman who admitted to lying to investigators about the boy’s disappearance was sentenced to only probation — prompting a child welfare advocate to lament that the state’s youngest victims often “don’t have a voice.”

 

[JerseyGirl]

Fitchburg woman on probation for lying to investigators in Jeremiah Oliver case

In August 2017, Alberto Sierra was sentenced to 6 to 7 years in state prison, with probation to follow, after pleading guilty to charges of assaulting Ms. Oliver and two of Jeremiah's siblings.

A week later, Ms. Oliver pleaded guilty to endangering two of Jeremiah's siblings and assaulting one of them and was sentenced to 7½ years in jail.

Charges against Ms. Oliver and her boyfriend that listed Jeremiah as the victim were dropped by prosecutors at the time of the pleas. Prosecutors said that action was necessary "to ensure that double jeopardy does not attach or prevent further possible prosecution for the homicide of the child."

 

[Bodhi]

Fitchburg woman on probation for lying to investigators in Jeremiah Oliver case

In August 2017, Alberto Sierra was sentenced to 6 to 7 years in state prison, with probation to follow, after pleading guilty to charges of assaulting Ms. Oliver and two of Jeremiah's siblings.

A week later, Ms. Oliver pleaded guilty to endangering two of Jeremiah's siblings and assaulting one of them and was sentenced to 7½ years in jail.

Charges against Ms. Oliver and her boyfriend that listed Jeremiah as the victim were dropped by prosecutors at the time of the pleas. Prosecutors said that action was necessary "to ensure that double jeopardy does not attach or prevent further possible prosecution for the homicide of the child."

Thank you for the update. I'm glad Jeremiah's siblings are away from their mother and her boyfriend. I appreciate the discretion exercised in not including charges for abuse of Jeremiah. Maybe someday one of the people involved will tell the truth. If that has not happened by the time Oliver and Sierra are close to release, I hope they charge them with the abuse of Jeremiah. The evidence of the abuse of his mother and siblings was clearly sufficient.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 17, 2023

Man charged with killing Jeremiah Oliver, young boy who went missing in 2013​

More than nine years after Jeremiah Oliver’s body was found in a suitcase on the side of a highway, a man has been arrested and charged with murdering the 5-year-old from Fitchburg.

Alberto Sierra Jr., 32, was arrested on a warrant out of Worcester Superior Court, the Worcester County District Attorney’s office announced Tuesday. Sierra, who was the boyfriend of Oliver’s mother, is facing one murder charge and another for disinterring a body.

Sierra is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Worcester Superior Court.

[...]

 

[JerseyGirl]

Man Charged With Murder in Death of 5-Year-Old Jeremiah Oliver Enters Not Guilty Plea

Nearly a decade after 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver’s body was found in a suitcase on the side of a highway, a Massachusetts man pleaded not guilty to a murder charge on Thursday morning. Alberto Sierra Jr., 32, the former boyfriend of Jeremiah’s mother, Elsa Oliver, was arrested on a warrant...

www.nbcboston.com

He was ordered held without bail pending his next court hearing on May 25.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Sierra Jr., 32, was arraigned in a brief appearance in Worcester Superior Court. He also pleaded not guilty to disinterring a body in the case. He was ordered held without bail.

The family, which lived in Fitchburg at the time, was being supervised by the state Department of Children and Families. Even before the boy's body was discovered, an investigation found that a social worker with the child welfare agency went months without visiting the family's home - despite reports of abuse and neglect.

Ultimately, three agency employees were fired and the report led to changes at the agency.

Alberto Sierra Jr. pleads not guilty to 2013 murder of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver

Alberto Sierra Jr., the man charged with killing 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver and hiding him in a suitcase 9 years ago, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge Thursday.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 19, 2023

Death of 5-year-old boy stuffed in suitcase nearly a decade ago finally leads to murder case, authorities say

Prosecutors in Massachusetts finally have an answer as to who murdered a 5-year-old boy found stuffed in a suitcase off of I-190 nearly a decade ago.

lawandcrime.com

Fitchburg Police Chief Ernest Martineau told press gathered outside the courthouse that he was still a sergeant when the investigation into Jeremiah’s disappearance and death began. The police chief said the phone call he received informing him of Sierra’s arrest is one he waited for a decade.

“We made a commitment 10 years ago that we would never give up and we would never forget and that came to fruition yesterday,” Martineau said.

He called the case haunting to any parent.

“Anything that happens to a child just eats at your soul,” he said.

 

[weepingangel]

Jeremiah Oliver, 5, was defending his mom before he was killed, prosecutors say

Alberto Sierra was dating Jeremiah Oliver's mother at the time the child went missing. The 5-year-old was found in a suitcase off of I-190 in Sterling in 2014.

www.masslive.com

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 26, 2023

Prosecutors Reveal New Details in Death of 5-Year-Old Jeremiah Oliver

Nearly a decade after 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver’s body was found in a suitcase on the side of a highway, prosecutors are releasing new details about how and when he died. Alberto Sierra Jr., 32, the former boyfriend of Jeremiah’s mother, Elsa Oliver, is facing murder charges in Jeremiah’s...

www.nbcboston.com

[...]

According to the prosecution, witnesses have come forward over the years, painting a picture of a violent relationship between the defendant and Jeremiah's mother. Sans said Jeremiah's mother eventually revealed to investigators that in September 2013 she and Sierra were in a fight at their home. Elsa Oliver said that Sierra headbutted her, and when she went to clean up Jeremiah, who was in a kitchen closet, came out and said something to the effect of "don't hurt my mommy." That was when, prosecutors claim, Sierra slammed the child's head into the floor. Oliver said her son was not moving, and when she tried to intervene, she was attacked and eventually passed out.

The prosecution noted that Jeremiah was often left in the kitchen closet because of "perceived issues with discipline." Sans said Jeremiah was placed back in the closet after the attack and the next day he was not breathing. The apparent date of his death was written in a journal kept by his mother.

The prosecution further alleges that Sierra put Jeremiah's body in a bag and left it in a hole, but later became concerned in December when the community began looking for the missing child. Prosecutors allege that Sierra, with the help of others, moved the body several times.

[...]