James Riva

Case identification

James Riva

Status

James Riva was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder and arson in 1981. His parole request was denied in 2004, and the state parole board again denied his request in 2009, with an opportunity to appear again in five years.

Background

In April 1980, James P. Riva shot his handicapped grandmother twice as she sat in her wheelchair. The gun was loaded with golden bullets. He drank warm blood gushing from the wounds before trying to cover his tracks by burning her body and her home.

James P. Riva was described as a troubled youngster who developed a bloodlust in his kindergarden days. He became obsessed with the notion that his infirm grandmother was a vampire predator, who was robbing him of his blood as he slept. He believed that his only hope lay in shooting her with golden bullets. In addition to shooting her, he stabbed her repeatedly because a "vampire told him that was what he had to do."

Riva had a history of mental illness dating back to 1975–1978, when he spent time in a mental institution.

Riva gave two separate stories when confronted about his crime. He told his mother that he was a vampire who would gain strength from drinking his grandmother’s blood. He also told psychiatrists he thought his grandmother was a vampire who came to feed on him as he slept. He believed he was satisfying his masters or superiors in the netherworld of vampires by making a human kill. He thought that if he killed "everybody who was bad to him, he would come back as a handsome man and have a car and girls and his life would be fine."

The events that led to Riva’s parole request included that in 1991 he slashed a prison officer with a homemade knife and beat him with a mop handle. He said he was off his medication at the time and that he believed the officer was sneaking into his cell at night and draining his spinal fluid.

The offence

Victim and circumstances

Carmen Lopez was 74 years old. She was wheelchair-bound from a spinal tumor, weighed about 75 pounds, and lived in her Rexhame Beach home. She was found dead after a fire consumed the home.

Conduct

On April 10, 1980, Carmen Lopez was found dead after a fire consumed her Rexhame beach home.

The police account described that Riva shot Lopez four times with gold-painted bullets, stabbed her in the heart, and burned her body in his Marshfield home to cover the evidence. In the plea-related narrative, he shot her twice as she sat in her wheelchair. He also stabbed her repeatedly because a "vampire told him that was what he had to do."

Items found

In the rubble of the fire, firefighters found a box in which Riva kept several .38-caliber gold-painted bullets like the ones found during Lopez’s autopsy.

In Riva’s car, police found a white candle and handmade circle enclosing a five-pointed gold star, a pentacle, a symbol associated with magic.

Investigation

James P. Riva told police the devil made him do it. He told police he was a 700-year-old vampire who needed to drink her blood, but that she was too old and dried up.

Riva’s attorney, John Spinale, warned jurors that they would hear evidence "so bizarre it staggers, it shocks the imagination."

Arrest

On April 11, 1980, James R. Riva, Lopez’s grandson, was arraigned in Plymouth District Court on charges of murder and burning a building, and he pleaded innocent.

Trial

Insanity defence and competency

John Spinale announced he would pursue insanity defense on Nov. 7, 1980. Riva was deemed mentally fit to stand trial on Aug. 4, 1981.

Murder trial events and verdict

On Oct. 22, 1981, Riva’s murder trial began.

On Oct. 30, 1981, a jury found Riva guilty of second-degree murder, arson, and assault and battery on an officer. Judge Peter F. Brady recommended a life sentence for the murder charge and a 19 to 20-year term for the arson charge.

Riva showed no emotion at the reading of the verdict.

Sentencing

Judge Brady sentanced James Riva to life imprisonment in Walpole State Prison on the murder charge, and concurrently to ten to twenty years on the arson charge. A separate account described that he was sentenced to life in prison for second-degree murder and arson a year later.

Appeals

On Oct. 31, 1984, Riva lost his appeal for a new trial.

On June 24, 1991, Riva was found not guilty by reason of insanity for slashing a prison officer.

Outcome

Riva was convicted of second-degree murder and arson, and he received life imprisonment for the murder and a concurrent term for arson.

Parole and later proceedings

Parole request and family responses

In August 2004, the state parole board denied Riva’s first parole request, telling him to return in five years.

In early August 2009, Riva went before the state parole board again, requesting release from prison where he was serving two consecutive life sentences.

The parole board’s decision released in 2009 noted that Riva had been committed to Bridgewater State Hospital four times since the 1980 murder. The board noted that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder. The board stated that Riva kept a job while in prison and earned academic degrees. The board wrote that "Mr. Riva continues to pose a serious risk to public safety . . . Moreover, he shows limited remorse and lacks insight into his violent behavior and the causative factors leading up to his offense." The board mentioned "threatening" letters Riva sent his mother while in prison and wrote that Riva failed to show how he would successfully re-enter society. The parole request was turned down once before in 2004, and after the 2009 denial Riva would have an opportunity to appear again in five years.

Quotes from parole board and family

Riva told the parole board: “The name penitentiary came from the word penitent – and you learn how to be penitent in prison,” and he said he had gained an education and converted to Islam while behind bars.

Parole board chairman Mark Conrad said: “You’ve taken a person’s life ... in a horrific way, a sadistic way, if I can be frank,” and, “If you were to do it to somebody who was on your side, who cared for you and supported you, it shows us you could do it to anybody.”

Residents described Riva’s claim as a contrived defense. Cheryl Toccio, Lopez’s grand-niece, said: “She deserved to die surrounded by her loved ones and according to God’s plan, not James Riva’s plan,” and “James Riva deserves not even a glimmer of hope of living one day in a world he so viciously took away from his grandmother.”

Christine Nelson, Lopez’s daughter, said: “What James did to my mother 29 years ago was a planned, premeditated attack. His release simply cannot be compatible with the welfare of society.”

Riva said his mother used to dunk his head repeatedly in a sink full of water, threatening to drown him, and that contributed to his mental illness.

Officer account

A Marshfield police officer, Ralph Poland, remembered finding Carmen Lopez’s body “in the fetal position at the base of her bed.” He said it looked like she was praying.

After the hearing, Poland said: “He shot her once. She threw a glass of water at him. He then shot her again,” and, “She didn’t die instantly; she burned alive. That’s the viciousness of this thing, and in that room, no remorse,” and “God forbid if he got loose in society. Somebody would die.”

Timeline

• April 10, 1980 — Carmen Lopez, 74, was found dead after a fire consumed her Rexhame beach home.
• April 11, 1980 — James R. Riva, Lopez’s grandson, was arraigned in Plymouth District Court on charges of murder and burning a building; he pleaded innocent.
• June 18, 1980 — Riva’s mother, Janet Jones, testified at a probable cause hearing that her son confessed to killing Lopez because he had been a vampire for four years and needed her blood to live.
• July 15, 1980 — Riva was indicted on murder and arson charges.
• Nov. 7, 1980 — Attorney John Spinale announced he would pursue insanity defense.
• Aug. 4, 1981 — Riva was deemed mentally fit to stand trial.
• Oct. 22, 1981 — Riva’s murder trial began.
• Oct. 30, 1981 — A jury found Riva guilty of second-degree murder, arson, and assault and battery on an officer.
• Oct. 31, 1984 — Riva lost his appeal for a new trial.
• June 24, 1991 — Riva was found not guilty by reason of insanity for slashing a prison officer.
• August 2004 — The state parole board denied Riva’s first parole request, telling him to return in five years.
• Aug. 4, 2009 — Riva was scheduled to appear before the parole board for a second time.
• Sep 10, 2009 — A parole decision resulted in Riva remaining behind bars.

Other details

Family and relationships

Riva’s mother was Janet S. Jones. She was described as the first to hear his confession, and she testified during the trial.

Riva’s grandmother was Carmen Lopez.

Riva had an aunt who lived on the South Shore.

Riva’s family members who spoke included Frances Cipullo, whose brother-in-law Louis Cipullo was acting deputy fire chief at the time, and Robert Cheeseman, whose brothers were Marshfield police officers in 1980.

Residents and relatives who spoke included Anne Lariviere, who was then an assistant town clerk, and Robert Cheeseman.

At the parole hearing, family members included Cheryl Toccio, Lopez’s grand-niece, and Christine Nelson, Lopez’s daughter.

Riva’s living situation prior to the crime

Riva lived at his Rexhame Beach house for three months while she was in the hospital. He moved to an uncle’s house two weeks before the crime.

Parole behavior and medication

The parole board said Riva showed a lack of remorse and seemed fixated on a claim that his mother abused him when he was 5.

The parole board questioned why prison officials did not trust Riva to take his medication.

Prison conduct and mental illness details

In 1991, Riva slashed a prison officer with a homemade knife and beat him with a mop handle.

Riva said he was off his medication at the time, leading him to believe the officer was sneaking into his cell at night and draining his spinal fluid.

The parole board said Riva had been committed to Bridgewater State Hospital four times since the 1980 murder.

Riva claimed years of prison therapy and medication helped him control the mental illness that convinced him he was a vampire, led him to torture animals, attack a prison officer, and kill the elderly woman who cared for him.