A female gang member who was 17 when she participated in the filmed torture and slaying of a 15-year-old Maryland girl learned her fate in court this week.
WRC reported that Venus Romero Iraheta, now 18, was sentenced Friday to 40 years in prison for the January 2017 murder of Damaris Alexandra Reyes Rivas. Iraheta previously confessed to killing Rivas because she believed the victim was responsible for luring her boyfriend, Christian Sosa Rivas, to his death.
“You’re going to remember me until the day we see each other in hell. Don’t forget my name. And I told her my full name and I told her my nickname. And I told it to her and I told her to never forget who I was. I told her someday we’re going to see each other again,” Iraheta recalled telling Reyes Rivas, admitting to investigators that she then stabbed her 13 times.
The Washington Post reported that Reyes Rivas was lured to Lake Accotink Park in Springfield under the guise of smoking marijuana. Once there, she was met by 10 MS-13 gang members, ages 15 to 21. A series of three cellphone videos show the mob interrogating and forcing Reyes Rivas to stand without clothes in 21-degree weather before a third video shows her lying on dead leaves, stained with her blood. Another gang member is seen jamming a stick into her neck.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, prosecutors argued during trial that the defendant told the victim she would see her “in f***ing hell” just before stabbing her.
Prosecutors said Reyes Rivas was left to die and succumbed to her injuries 20 minutes later. MS-13 associates later dumped her body in a puddle near an industrial park, where it was found a month later.
The Post reported that Sosa Rivas was likely killed by other MS-13 members because they believed he was falsely claiming his title. Reports indicated that the group filmed the girl’s murder in hopes of sending it to MS-13 leaders in El Salvador, who would promote them within the gang.
All 10 gang members have been convicted in connection with Reyes Rivas’ murder. WLS reported that the final defendant is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.
“I know I have made the worst mistake of my life,” Iraheta tearfully said in court. “At night, while I’m sleeping I will wake up with these memories. They will come to me full force. I wish I could push them away.”
[Featured image: Venus Romero Iraheta/Fairfax County Police; Damaris Alexandra Reyes Rivas/Screenshot]
