Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 28-year-old Luis Lopez-Rivera of Buffalo has been sentenced by State Supreme Court Justice John L. Michalski to 25 years to life in prison.

The defendant was convicted of the murder of 47-year-old Maria Rivera who was strangled to death inside her apartment on Sobieski Street in the City of Buffalo on February 10, 2018.

In March 2019, a jury found Lopez-Rivera guilty, as charged, of one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class “A” felony. The defendant was convicted on the only charge in the indictment against him.

As part of his sentence, Justice Michalski ordered the defendant to pay the maximum possible fine of $5,000 for the crime.

DA Flynn commends the investigative work of the Buffalo Police Department Homicide Squad, including Det. Patricia Wrest, Det. Brendan Kiefer, Det. James Kaska, Det. Joy Jermain and Det. Sgt. Carl Lundin. DA Flynn also commends US Marshals for their work in locating the defendant in Florida.

The case was prosecuted by Colleen Curtin Gable, Chief of the DA’s Homicide Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Schnirel of the DA’s Domestic Violence Bureau.