Jealousy motivated Fresno woman to kill her sister and baby niece, say prosecutors
New details have been revealed in the shocking killings of 18-year-old Yanelly Solorio Rivera and her 3-week-old baby Celine Solorio Rivera who were shot multiple times in their southwest Fresno home by an allegedly jealous relative.
Prosecutors have charged Solorio Rivera’s 22-year-old sister Yarelly Solorio Rivera and her boyfriend Martin Arroyo Morales, 26, of Madera with the murders.
If convicted, they could be sentenced to death.
The couple made their first court appearance on Tuesday. They were arrested on Nov. 9, but their arraignment was continued until Dec. 8.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Deborah Miller filed a motion on Monday requesting the pair be held without bail.
Although Judge Jon Kapetan set aside the motion until Dec. 8, the document reveals how Yarelly Solorio Rivera tried to steer detectives toward other suspects, how she admitted to the killings and spoke of her motivations.
Miller states in the motion that the motive was simple jealousy. Prosecutors say defendant Yarelly Solorio Rivera has two children that she believed were being overshadowed.
“She was sick of Yanelly and the baby getting all of her parents’ attention and her kids were getting none,” according to the court document.
On Sept. 24 at 7:18 a.m., the morning of the murders, Yarelly Solorio Rivera called 911 to report hearing gunshots coming from her sister’s bedroom. When police arrived a short time later the family was already outside.
“Yarelly told officers that the family was frightened that the shooter may still be in the home and no one from the family went to check on Yanelly or Celine,” according to the court document.
Yarelly also began mentioning to police her sister’s boyfriend may be a suspect. Police later learned he had a solid alibi.
Police found Yanelly with multiple gunshot wounds to her arm, abdomen, and chin. The baby had at least one gunshot wound to the back. Both were dead, according to the court document.
Detectives found nine spent 9mm shell casings, but no gun. They interviewed family members about where they were that morning, including Yarelly. Detectives soon discovered Yarelly’s statements were inconsistent.
Family members told detectives they found it unusual that their guard dogs didn’t alert them to a stranger coming into their secluded home on Fruit Avenue, just north of Jensen Avenue.
Yarelly said she was with a friend the night before and came home at 1 a.m. She also had an injury to her lip that she blamed on her friend who hit her. Detectives asked for the friend’s contact information and Yarelly was unwilling to provide it.
According to the court document, detectives eventually found the friend and realized Yarelly’s story wasn’t true. The friend told them Yarelly asked her to lie about them being together. In reality, Yarelly was with her boyfriend Arroyo Morales, who police said was present during the shooting.
Wiretaps were set up on Yarelly’s phone as well as two other family members. Detectives learned that one family member blamed their sister for the deaths and another saw Arroyo Morales running from the garage with a gun after the shooting.
Yarelly and her boyfriend were arrested and charged with murder. During her interview with detectives, Yarelly told them her boyfriend was the shooter but later recanted that statement and admitted she alone shot her sister and niece because she was jealous.
“She made it clear that the killings were planned between her and Martin and stated that she no longer could live with Yanelly,” the court document states.
This story was originally published November 15, 2022 at 5:29 PM.
