Vigil, Public Funeral Set

Vigil for

• There will be just one vigil for 7-year-old now. It will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at . Originally, there were two vigils planned, one on Wednesday at Heritage Park and another on Friday in front of the River Ridge apartment complex. "Out of respect for the complex and as a request of the 's ongoing investigation, we moved it to Heritage Park," organizer Tina Ryan said. "The two vigils have been combined for Friday night." For more information, go to http://www.facebook.com/events/146347572134229/.

Public viewing and funeral this weekend

• According to , funeral arrangements have been set for Rivera. A public viewing is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, while a public service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at . Rivera's remains will be flown to Puerto Rico for burial after a private service for family members, WSB-TV reported Tuesday night.

Autopsy, $15K reward announced

• Tuesday morning, Georgia Bureau of Investigation director Vernon Keenan announced performed Monday night. Among the findings:
  • Calling it a "very horrific and brutal murder," Keenan said the crime was "very calculated and planned."
  • Rivera "died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head" approximately 60 to 90 minutes after she was abducted from the  playground around 5 p.m. Friday.
  • She "was taken to a vacant apartment, assaulted there, murdered and then disposed of in the Dumpster which contains compacted trash."
  • The autopsy revealed Rivera was stabbed an undisclosed number of times and sexually assaulted. "There were also other injuries to the child which I'm not going to describe," Keenan said.
  • Investigators have located an apartment unit with traces of what appears to be blood. The evidence was set to the GBI crime lab. Preliminary DNA results were expected Tuesday. There was no evidence of forced entry. The apartment was unlocked. Asked how far the vacant unit was from Rivera's home, Keenan said, "The buildings are adjacent to each other."
  • Officials feel "very strongly" that Rivera's killer "resides in ... or has readily access" to the apartment community.
  • Several registered sex offenders live at River Ridge, Keenan said. "We have no reason to believe at this point that the sex offenders are involved," he said.
  • Authorities are offering a $15,000 reward for information that would lead to the "arrest and conviction of the child murderer." If you have any information that would lead to the arrest of her killer, call the new tip line number at 770-721-7852.
  • There are 65 local, state and federal law enforcement officials assigned to the case. They include investigators from the , the , the GBI and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  • "Several hundred" interviews have been conducted. 

Stay tuned to canton-ga.patch.com for updates.