Mom holding baby when both shot to death in Fresno. Police give new info, plea for help
New details in the killing of a young Fresno mother and her 3-week-old baby came out Thursday, the day the child would have turned 2 months old, according to Chief Paco Balderrama.
Fresno police said the reward is now $25,000 for information in the gun deaths of Yanelly Solorio Rivera, 18, and her 3-week-old girl, Celine Solorio Rivera, who were shot and killed 7:20 a.m. Sept. 24 inside a home near Fruit and Jensen avenues.
Balderrama said the double killing was the No. 1 priority for homicide detectives.
“This is a very, very high priority for us because it is such a heinous, horrendous crime in our community and we’re not going to stand for it,” he said.
Balderrama said investigators believe the mother was holding the baby when someone fired several shots, striking her multiple times and hitting the baby at least once.
Police have ruled out a murder-suicide by the mother, Balderrama said, adding that the gun has never been found and the angle of her wounds suggest another person was involved.
He says investigators chased every lead but have come up short.
The home had cameras in it but there was a “connectivity issue” that prevented police from being able to retrieve any video, he said.
“We need the community to get involved,” he said. “Somebody knows something.”
Both victims were shot in the upper body, police have said. There was no sign of forced entry, Balderrama said.
He said he was surprised to have not seen more public outrage over the killing. “The story, when it happened, had about a 48-hour news cycle, and then people forgot about it — a 3-week-old baby shot to death in the arms of her mother, an 18-year-old mother.”
Mother killed from Fresno area
Yanelly Solorio Rivera was from the Fresno area and went to Fresno schools, according to Lt. Paul Cervantes, who heads up the homicide detectives in Fresno.
Having only recently given birth, she was not working, he said.
Her family has not spoken publicly. A candlelight vigil was held several days after the slayings, but the family asked media to remain outside.
ATF involved in double slaying investigation
The reward money includes $10,000 from local Crime Stoppers and $15,000 from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The ATF routinely works with Fresno police on gun crimes, according to Joshua Jackson, the ATF’s acting special agent in charge for the San Francisco Field Division.
“This one is definitely a bridge too far as far as a young mother, a young child being gunned down the way that they were,” he said.
Family members outside the house on the day of the shooting told police they heard shots fired inside of the rural home among trees in the middle of an orchard, police have said.
Investigators said the family has been cooperative. At least four family members were home during the shooting.
Gun violence remains an issue in Fresno.
Balderrrama said 85% of the homicides in Fresno this year have involved a gun.
The deaths of the mother and baby brought Fresno’s murder investigation total to 45 for the year and came amid a violent weekend.
And on Wednesday, the city reached 51.
Anyone calling with information can remain completely anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 559-498-7867.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 11:40 AM.
