Sentencing of Francisco Rivera

Found some information on the sentencing of Francisco Rivera who shot and murdered Omar Vera-Marti in 2009.  An interesting bit of information, attempting to find more concrete information on the trial and sentencing.

It’s interesting to me that they picked up on what Rivera did, which was send a ‘kiss of death’ to the victim’s wife.  This is something that is typical of abusers, to send silent messages to their victims that they think bystanders wont see or recognize.  It’s good to see it was in this instance…

The ‘kiss of death’

Eric Heisig, eric.heisig@wislawjournal.com 08-30-2013 0 Comments

I think I may have found the oddest entry ever put into a court record. And it’s in Milwaukee County.

It’s a lofty statement, I know, but this isn’t related to a filing, verdict or appearance. No, this involves something you only hear about in movies about the mafia.

According to the court reporter’s entry:

“Off the record. Defendant was being moved to the back bullpen and he blew a kiss at a Spanish Male in gallery sitting with the victim’s wife during the proceedings. This was interpreted this to mean a ‘kiss of death.’ Deputy Court Clerk kmh.”

The defendant is Francisco Rivera, 31, who was found guilty Thursday of first-degree intentional homicide for gunning down Omar Vera-Marti in 2009.

Now, I was in Judge David Borowski’s courtroom when this happened, but I wasn’t – and still am not – 100 percent sure what happened. I know it got real tense as Rivera was escorted out, but that’s not unusual, especially since he will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison.

But a “kiss of death”? That’s a new one for me.

Got a weirder one? Send it to me at eric.heisig@wislawjournal.com.

WIS Law Journal