The mother of Jorelys Rivera, the 7-year-old who was slain by a groundskeeper at a Canton apartment complex in December, was arrested after a domestic dispute with her partner, police said.
According to a police report, officers were called to the home of Jocelyn Rivera-Ruiz in the 8300 block of Walden Crossing Drive in Canton around 6:55 p.m. Monday. (The incident report spelled the woman's name "Joselinne Rivera-Ruiz.")
Rivera-Ruiz and her partner, Maria Americano, had gotten into a fight, the report said.
Americano's daughter called police, and officers arrived to find Americano locked in a bedroom with Rivera-Ruiz' two children, ages 1 and 4. Police noticed bruises and scratches on both women, the report said.
The woman told police that she had tried to leave the apartment, but Rivera-Ruiz wouldn't let her. That's when Americano told police she "popped" her partner in the eye.
Rivera-Ruiz admitted to police that Americano was trying to leave, so she grabbed her and held her down, the report said. When police asked about her bruised eye, Rivera-Ruiz said she got it after tripping and hitting her head on a piece of furniture.
Rivera-Ruiz denied that she and Americano had gotten into a fight, according to police.
Police said they arrested both women, charging each of them with battery and cruelty to children. Rivera-Ruiz was released on $1,000 bond Tuesday.
According to the report, Rivera-Ruiz' aunt would take care of the children in the home while the women were in jail. The incident has been reported to the state Division of Family and Children Services, according to police.
In early December, Rivera-Ruiz' daughter Jorelys was found dead inside a trash compactor at a different Canton apartment complex where she lived at the time.
A groundskeeper, Ryan Brunn, 20, was arrested and confessed to killing the girl. He was convicted of the child's murder and sentenced to life in prison. In January, Brunn hanged himself inside his prison cell and died.
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