Falls Twp. Man Sentenced For Kidnapping, Murder Of His Own Mother

Sean Rivera. Credit: Falls Township police

A Falls Township man arrested for killing his mother in 2023 was sentenced at the Bucks County Justice Center on Thursday.

Below is the press release from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office:

A 30-year-old man pleaded guilty on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, to second-degree murder for the killing of his mother in April 2023 and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Sean Rivera, of Berwyn Road, Morrisville, Falls Township, drugged 72-year-old Carol J. Clark by putting fentanyl in her iced tea and then drove her to Philadelphia where he shot and killed her, leaving her body in a shed that he shut with a padlock.

On Thursday, Rivera entered guilty pleas to second-degree murder, kidnapping to facilitate a felony, kidnaping to inflict terror or injury, aggravated assault, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, possession of an instrument of crime, possession of a weapon, false imprisonment, unlawful restraint, and recklessly endangering another person.

“The facts of this case are horrific,” Common Pleas Judge Stephen A. Corr said in accepting a negotiated plea from Rivera.

Corr sentenced Rivera to life in prison on the murder charge, and a concurrent sentence of 28 to 56 years on the remaining charges. Additionally, Corr ordered that Rivera have no contact with remaining family members and ordered that he undergo a mental health and drug and alcohol evaluation.

During Thursday’s hearing, the victim’s other children provided touching statements about their mother, detailing the impact she had on the communities she lived and worked in in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Clark had a legacy of public service, which included working at Staten Island Borough Hall, the Urban Women’s Center in Trenton, the New Jersey Department of Human Services, and the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. She also joined the Religious Society of Friends in Philadelphia, where as a clerk, she started an after-school program and other community outreach programs that provided a safe haven for generations of neighborhood children.

“You feel proud when you take inventory of a lifetime of work and accomplishment,” her other son read in court. “When you really see the good someone you love was able to accomplish. These were her proudest accomplishments aside from her kids and grandkids.”

Clark’s daughter also prepared a statement, which was read during the hearing, saying “the world was a better place when her mother was in it.”

This investigation began on the afternoon of April 9, 2023, after Falls Township police received a report of a domestic dispute between two brothers regarding the whereabouts of their mother.

During the investigation, detectives learned Rivera lived with his mother at 505 Berwyn Road. On the morning of April 9, 2023, Rivera informed his brother, who lives in New York, that their mother had died. When the brother arrived, Rivera would not say where their mother was. The Falls Township Police Department put out an alert, asking the public to help them locate Clark.

Detectives later obtained warrants to search the home and the victim’s vehicle, locating two firearms, as well as a Home Depot receipt, a padlock, and an empty padlock package. A set of bolt cutters was found inside the victim’s vehicle.

The investigation concluded that Rivera diluted fentanyl in his mother’s iced tea sometime on the night of April 8, 2023. With his mother in a conscious but lethargic state, he placed her in her vehicle and drove her to the shed in the 4300 block of Waln Street in Philadelphia sometime between 2 and 3 a.m. the next day.

There, he used the bolt cutters to cut off any padlocks, placed his mother inside and then shot her multiple times. He then closed the shed and locked it with one of the padlocks he had purchased. The shed was opened with a key recovered from the defendant.

“This defendant has such a coldness of heart,” District Attorney Jennifer Schorn said. “He took the life of the woman who gave him life all because she became care dependent and a burden to him. It’s senseless. The loss that the victim’s other children and grandchildren suffered is unimaginable.

“I thank the outstanding law enforcement and prosecution team for the work done to bring justice for the victim,” she said.

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