BERWICK, Pa. — A mother in Columbia County was found guilty Friday in the death of her one-year-old daughter.
24-year-old Angelica Rivera of Berwick had nothing to say, leaving the Columbia County Courthouse after a jury found her guilty of third-degree murder for the death of her one-year-old daughter.
Baby Amara Diaz was found dead inside an apartment along East 2nd Street in Berwick in June of 2021.
Rivera says she put the baby down for a nap at about 10 a.m. that morning.
Rivera told investigators she left the little girl and her 2-year-old alone in the apartment. When she returned several hours later, she found the baby in her bed blue and not breathing.
Rivera took the witness stand in her own defense.
Her attorneys argued that she is a loving mom who quit her job to stay home with her kids.
But the prosecution laid out a timeline of the day Amara died, and an autopsy showed the baby suffered severe head trauma, including skull fractures, brain swelling, and injuries to her mouth.
Rivera was also found guilty on charges of tampering with evidence and endangering the welfare of children.
She could face up to 40 years in prison on the third-degree murder charge alone.