The Mysterious Murder of Father Rivera
Father Reynaldo Rivera
In 1982 Sante Fe, New Mexico Father Reynaldo Rivera goes missing after supposedly delivering last rites to an ailing man, two years later another reverend goes missing in an unrelated case in a completely different state but the similarities may have ended up linking both crimes.
As the decades went on more details were revealed that shed some doubt on the cases being related and the time spent investigating the link may leave both mysterious cases unsolved and an unknown killer randomly targeting catholic priests on the loose.
PART 1 - Last Rites
In Christianity and Catholicism, the last rites are the final prayers and services given to those on the verge of death. Many see this as their final opportunity to repent for their sins allowing them to enter heaven. When asked, priests sometimes go to great lengths to ensure those on their final breaths are given their last rites before they pass.
Michael Carmello
On August 7th, 1982, Michael Carmello was in need of last rites, not for himself but for his ailing grandfather. During a late night drive, his grandfather had become severely ill, feeling an impending death. They stopped at a rest stop outside of Waldo, New Mexico so Michael could look for a phone to call the nearest church.
Several miles away the phone rang at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis, Father Patrick Gerard answered the phone and listened to the plight of Michael. With it being after 9 pm, Father Gerard explained to him he could not safely drive at night due to his eyesight but he had an idea; If Michael could call back in a few minutes Father Reynaldo Rivera would be available to take his call and perhaps his request.
As instructed Michael called back and Father Rivera answered, agreeing to deliver the last rites to his grandfather. Father Rivera grabbed his items and let Father Gerard know he would be heading to Michael’s blue pickup truck at the rest stop near Waldo and would return shortly.
Father Rivera never returned.
The Search
For the next few days, many joined the search for the reverend but as the days went on hope diminished he would be found alive. Three days after he went missing, Father Rivera’s lifeless body was found two miles from the rest stop; he was fifty-seven years old.
Father Rivera had been shot once in the chest and there was evidence he had been tied and strangled with a wire, possibly a metal hanger. Investigation of the rest stop revealed the pay phone that was supposedly used to bring Rivera there wasn’t in service at the time. Police then found the name Michael Carmello was made up. The entire thing had been a setup.
Within days the FBI offered to give a psychological profile of the killer and along with the Santa Fe Police department, they believed there were at least two killers who were out for revenge, not revenge against Father Rivera but revenge against any catholic priest.
Investigators also believed the killers wanted the body to be found, instead of hiding or burying his body anywhere in the desert they chose to leave him out in an open pasture. Furthermore, after Father Rivera’s car was found the police were able to rule out a robbery gone wrong as it didn’t appear that anything of monetary value was stolen. The only thing taken was his last rites kit which the FBI attributed to the killers wanting a souvenir.
Suspects
A further search of the car showed it had been wiped completely clean of any prints except a palm print which led police to believe it belonged to a 39-year-old man who was let out on parole three days prior to the murder and spotted a day before in Santa Fe.
But he was soon cleared when his palm print didn’t match and his alibi checked out with other witnesses. Over the next four months, the police cleared other suspects including a pair who had been accused of killing a priest in Arizona, a man who had been suspected of killing a priest in Texas, and another man who bragged about killing a priest in Sacramento.
Without any witnesses and exhausting all their leads the police could do no more until two years later when another seemingly related disappearance happened over a thousand miles away.
PART 2 - A Second Connected Disappearance
On July 18th, 1984, 58-year-old Reverend John Patrick Kerrigan was transferred from the town of Plains, Montana to the Sacred Heart Catholic Church at Ronan in Montana. Not much is known of what Kerrigan did for the next two days besides getting settled into the small town, but on July 20th on his way back home from a jog, he stopped off at a bakery before vanishing.
Three days later Kerrigan was reported missing after not showing up for mass for two straight days. That same day his blood-stained clothes and a bent metal hanger were found five miles from Ronan near the side of a highway. Police were then able to rule out robbery as Kerrigan’s wallet along with $200 were mixed in with his clothing.
A week later his car was found miles away containing blood stains and a bloody shovel in the trunk, but Kerrigan’s body was never found. In 1985 police reported they had a possible suspect under surveillance but no arrests were ever made.
Connected Cases?
Attempting to look into Kerrigan’s past, Montana detectives traced his previous whereabouts to New Mexico in 1983 where they learned of Father Rivera’s murder. This opened the door to the possibility both were connected and targeted by a serial killer looking to kill catholic priests.
Both cases possibly involved a metal hangar during the course of the crime, both occurred in the summer, both reverends were around the same age, and both cars were brown Chevys and were found miles from their homes, appearing to have been used to transport the bodies.
Kerrigan’s Secrets
But looking into Kerrigan’s past revealed he had his own dark secrets which began to throw doubts on any connection between the two cases. As the Montana police department tried to link Kerrigan and Rivera together during Kerrigan’s time in New Mexico, they continuously came to roadblocks from church officials.
Kerrigan had been transferred multiple times to multiple churches over the last few years prior to his disappearance and church officials refused to say why besides stating he had been in New Mexico for “further education”. With no further details, the police were unable to link both crimes, and investigators themselves were divided as to if both were connected.
The lack of evidence and leads left investigators stumped and opened the door to various theories.
PART 3 - The Theories
We know why the investigators believed the cases to be linked, the similarities between both are hard to ignore but let’s look at how they are different.
Not Connected?
First, the bodies or lack thereof, Father Rivera’s body was found in an open pasture leading detectives to believe his killers wanted his body to be found in contrast to Kerrigan’s body never being recovered.
For the crime scenes; the use of a metal hangar is only suspected in Father Rivera’s case while confirmed in Kerrigan’s case. Kerrigan’s car had multiple blood stains along with his clothing while Rivera’s car was wiped clean and no blood stains were reportedly left in or around the car.
The men themselves were also found to have no connection and were found to not have crossed paths at any point in their lives including the three months Kerrigan spent in New Mexico.
In Father Rivera’s case, he didn’t appear to be targeted specifically as the killers called looking for any priest available to give last rites.
Satanic Panic
A theory that was considered early on and reported by The Santa Fe New Mexican paper was the idea that a satanic cult may have been behind Father Rivera’s murder. Father Rivera’s own brother Fred Rivera also believes this to be the case. During the search for his brother, Fred and others found a cave nearby that appeared to have been used for satanic worship.
Though it is important to note, that the murder occurred during the height of the satanic panic, a time when hysteria swept through the United States leading many to falsely believe devil worship and rituals were causing negative impacts on society. The police also quickly ruled out this theory as they could not find any ritualistic markings on Father Rivera or anywhere near where his body was found.
It could be argued Father Rivera’s murder was a senseless murder by a group who wanted revenge on the catholic church taking out their anger on any priest but in Kerrigan’s case, his past shed some light on why some would have wanted him dead.
Kerrigan’s Dark Past
In 2015 it was revealed why the church officials in 1984 were so keen on not giving more information on Kerrigan’s transfers for further education. A class action lawsuit from 2011 forced the Diocese of Helena to publish a list of priests and nuns accused of sexual abuse. John Patrick Kerrigan was on that list.
Instead of removing him completely from the church or contacting authorities, church officials elected to move Kerrigan around to avoid punishment. In fact, his assignment at Ronan was his 13th assignment since being ordained, never staying in one place for more than six years before being forced to move.
With this information, it’s not difficult to see why someone who was failed by the system or witnessed the injustice and abuse would have wanted to take matters into their own hands.
In the end, we may never know what happened to both Father Rivera and Kerrigan, was it a random act of violence and a targeted act of revenge for past evils done onto others? Or were both opportunistic killings?
No new information has been released publicly since 2015 on either man but police do have details they are holding onto in both cases just in case a new lead opens, until then both cases will continue to be mysteries.
But how about you do you think the cases are actually linked by a killer or are both separate cases with some coincidental similarities?
