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Police brass, detectives at press conference announcing murder arrests.
Ana Gonzalez allegedly walked into the TJ Maxx on Frontage Road in East Haven just after 4:30 p.m. on July 19, 2024 – hours after Miguel Rivera’s body was pulled from Hemingway Creek on the east side of New Haven.
She walked out of TJ Maxx with a receipt — which would eventually lead detectives to arrest her for a gruesome murder.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit newly obtained by the Independent, surveillance footage showed Gonzalez at the jewelry counter, applying for a store credit card under the name “Mary Gondalez.” She left with a receipt in hand and a white Kia Optima waiting in the lot – the same car Rivera had last been seen driving.
That car was stolen, and its owner had been strangled to death that morning. As Gonzalez shopped, police had not yet confirmed Rivera’s identity. That store receipt — routine and timestamped — would help unravel a deadly scheme that involved fentanyl and identify theft, and ended with Rivera’s alleged murder.
At a Wednesday press conference, Mayor Justin Elicker and Police Chief Karl Jacobson announced the arrests of Gonzalez, 37, and her alleged accomplice – a 28-year-old Naugatuck man – in connection with Rivera’s death, officially ruled a homicide by strangulation.
Both arrestees face charges of murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and second-degree robbery. They were both arrested on June 6. Both have not yet entered pleas to any of those charges. And each is being held on a $2 million bond.
Police, standing alongside the victim’s family and friends, shared limited details at Wednesday’s press conference about the work that led to the arrests. A 24-page affidavit newly obtained by the Independent sheds greater light on what police believe happened.
The document, written by lead Det. Martin Podsiad, outlines how the TJ Maxx receipt – timestamped hours after Rivera was found dead – became a key piece of evidence. The receipt helped investigators link Gonzalez to Rivera’s stolen car and trace a timeline through surveillance footage, DNA, and GPS data. The following account is based on what Podsiad reported in the warrant.
Rivera’s body was discovered around 7:10 a.m. on July 19, 2024, in Hemingway Creek near Eastern Street, lying face-down in the water with no identification or phone. At the scene, police observed no obvious signs of trauma, and emergency responders initially suspected he may have died of a drug overdose. It wasn’t until the following day, during an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, that his death was ruled a homicide – caused by strangulation. Ultimately, police determined his identity with the help of fingerprints acquired during Rivera’s autopsy.
In the days after Rivera’s death, detectives focused on locating his missing vehicle – a white Kia Optima – which was recovered on July 22, 2024, on Essex Street in New Haven. Inside, investigators found a TJ Maxx receipt dated July 19, 2024, at 4:39 p.m. from the TJ Maxx located at 220 Frontage Rd. in East Haven, black latex gloves, and drug paraphernalia. DNA swabs were taken from various parts of the car, later matching both Ana Gonzalez and her alleged accomplice.
When police interviewed Gonzalez on July 29, she gave a series of conflicting accounts. At first, she claimed Rivera had rented her the car, and that he simply overdosed. She insisted that when she and her alleged accomplice – whom she referred to as “Sofrito” — last saw Rivera, he was alive. Later, she shifted, suggesting Rivera had taken fentanyl willingly and passed out while driving.
As detectives pressed her with GPS data and witness testimony, Gonzalez’s story began to change. Eventually, she stated that she gave Rivera the drugs in an effort to incapacitate him, and when he didn’t pass out quickly enough, the plan escalated. She then claimed that during a struggle in the car, a third person strangled Rivera with a T‑shirt while Sofrito, who was also later arrested, helped move his body. Afterward, they dragged Rivera out of the vehicle and left him in Hemingway Creek, near Eastern Street.
Police never recovered the T‑shirt used in the strangulation. That third person was also interviewed by police; they denied any involvement in the killing and told investigators that Gonzalez was the one who used the T‑shirt. That third person has not been charged with any crimes related to Rivera’s murder.
Other witnesses corroborated parts of Gonzalez’s alleged behavior. One witness told police she was “friendly” with Rivera and occasionally drove around with him to “get high.” She said Rivera didn’t seem to have problems with anyone but, when asked if she knew of any sex workers who had been robbing clients, she immediately named “Lady”– a nickname for Gonzalez.
Another witness said Sofrito claimed he hadn’t planned on the strangulation but “just went along with it.” Afterward, the witness recalled Sofrito expressing regret, saying things like, “I don’t know what I got myself into” and “I’m about to ruin my whole life for her.”
Gonzalez also allegedly said they dumped Rivera’s body in the creek near the Bella Vista.
DNA found inside the Kia – including on the rearview mirror – was matched to Gonzalez and Sofrito. Analysts determined it was over a trillion times more likely to be theirs than not. Surveillance footage, debit card transactions, and GPS data from Sofrito’s court-ordered ankle monitor placed Sofrito and Gonzalez together and near the crime scene around the time Rivera’s body was discovered at 7:10 a.m. on July 19.
At Wednesday’s press conference, Chief Jacobson emphasized that solving the case required more than traditional detective work.
“This is about good detective work. It’s about technology. And it’s about community support,” he said.
As of Thursday, both Gonzalez and Sofrito remain in custody. They are scheduled to appear in state court on June 18.