Lawrence man arrested in connection with death of 13-year-old girl

LAWRENCE, Mass. — A Lawrence man is behind bars in connection to the death of 13-year-old Chloe Ricard, who was found dead outside Lawrence General Hospital earlier this week.

Carlos Rivera, 47, of Lawrence faces multiple charges in his arrest. Police charged him with two counts of Distribution of Class B Drugs to a Minor, two counts of Indecent Assault & Battery on a Child Under 14 and one count of Indecent Assault & Battery on a Person Over 14.

The girl, later identified by family members as 13-year-old Chole Ricard, was dropped off at the emergency room on Monday at around 4:47 p.m., officials said. She was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

"I want justice. I want justice now," the girl's mother, Deborah Goldsmith-Dolan, said Tuesday. "I'm in shock, and I can’t believe I’m telling this story."

She said her daughter was at a friend's house the day before.

"When I called the other friend, she said she was safe. And if you’re going to take off, tell me you’re safe," she said.

By late Monday afternoon, the mother began worrying after not hearing from Chloe. She went to the police station to file a missing person's report. She learned her daughter was dropped off at the hospital's emergency room lifeless.

On Saturday, investigators determined that Rivera allegedly brought Ricard to Lawrence General Hospital on May 20. Essex County DA's office says he was accompanied by a 16-year-old girl.

"From what one of the police officers said at the hospital, she was brought in and dumped at the hospital. They said she was lifeless. No pulse, no nothing, they just drove in and dropped her off," the girl's stepfather, Brian Dolan, told Boston 25 News. "She didn't even have a pulse when they pushed her out of the car."

For Ricard's family, Rivera's arrest raises more questions than answers.

"You know, it's just hard," Dolan said. "I want more answers. This little kid was 13 years old and what were you doing with my daughter?"

Investigators learned that Chloe and the other girl were at Rivera's Lawrence apartment at 59 Bellevue St., on the evening of May 19 and during most of the next day.

The Ricard family says Chole loved to draw and that they take comfort believing she's been reunited with her late father.

A neighbor of Rivera says the suspect did car inspections for a nearby autobody shop - though, he says, he never noticed anything unusual about Rivera.

The incident remains under investigation. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has not yet ruled on the cause and manner of the death of the 13-year old girl.

Rivera is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday in Lawrence District Court.

Cox Media Group