Guatemalan Man Convicted Decades After 1991 Attleboro Murder

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — A man from Guatemala has been convicted for a 1991 murder in Attleboro.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced that Mario Rene Garcia Rivera was convicted of first degree murder, following a jury trial in Fall River Superior Court, for the murder of Ismael Jesus Recinos Garcia.

The 1991 Attleboro Murder

On November 16, 1991, Attleboro Police responded to the intersection of Bank Street and Dean Street and found Garcia, who was 28 years old, suffering from a single stab wound to the chest. He was pronounced deceased a short time later, and the murder weapon, a butcher’s knife, was located the following morning three houses away from the crime scene.

The Long Search for a Fugitive

Rivera, who was 19 years old at the time, was identified by several witnesses. Police obtained a warrant for his arrest on a murder charge, but Rivera fled Massachusetts and eventually the country shortly after the murder.

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Found on a Shrimp Farm in Guatemala

Following a lengthy investigation by the Massachusetts State Police, Rivera was found on a shrimp farm in Guatemala in December 2022. He was arrested and extradited back to the United States to face the murder charge for which he was ultimately convicted.

Rivera will be sentenced on December 5, 2025.

District Attorney Commends Investigators

"I’d like to commend the prosecution team for their efforts in the investigation and prosecution of this case,” D.A. Quinn said. “I especially would like to acknowledge the investigative effort of Massachusetts State Trooper Curt Cinelli, who was instrumental in the apprehension of the defendant in Guatemala. Without his efforts a conviction would not be possible.”