UPDATE: Dad left apology video before killing 9-year-old by setting car on fire, N.J. authorities say
A father already accused of setting fire to a car that had his deceased son’s body inside, is facing more charges — including murder — following an autopsy that was completed on the boy, officials said.
Manuel Rivera is now charged with murder, second-degree aggravated arson, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and second-degree desecration of human remains, the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office announced late Friday. Rivera is in critical condition at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital after he was found outside the car with burns on his body and an undisclosed self-inflicted wound, authorities said.
Rivera, 43, took the boy following a dispute with the child’s mother at the couple’s home on Eisenhower Drive in Sayreville, the office said. He then drove to Sayreville War Memorial High School shortly before 10:45 p.m. on Thursday and set the vehicle on fire near the back of the building.
When police arrived, Rivera was next to the burning vehicle he had allegedly doused with gasoline and his child was found inside, authorities said.
Sayreville Superintendent Richard Labbe said the boy was a student at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School. Rivera was hired by the school district in January as a part-time cafeteria worker and driver, according to a board of education meeting agenda.
Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is asked to call Sayreville police Detective Michael Pirigyi at 732-727-4444 or Detective Jose Rosario of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3289.
Stories by Chris Sheldon
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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.