Jorelys Rivera's Mom Arrested

Joselinne Rivera-Ruiz, whose daughter's brutal murder made national headlines in December and , was arrested on Monday.

According to a  incident report released today, officers were called to the Walden Crossing Apartments just before 7 p.m. Monday in reference to a domestic dispute between Rivera-Ruiz and her partner, Maria Estela Americano.

When police arrived, they noticed bruises and scratches on both women.

Rivera-Ruiz's left eye was bruised and discolored. Her neck was scratched. Her shirt had several blood stains. And a red mark stretched across her right knuckle.

Maria Americano was bleeding from her right pinky, and had scratches on her right hand as well as a large bruise on the left side of her throat.

"I asked Maria how she had obtained the injuries and she told me that she had tried to leave the apartment but that her partner would not let her and that her partner started hitting her," an officer wrote in the incident report. "Maria further stated that she then "popped" her in the eye."

Rivera-Ruiz told police that she grabbed Americano and held her down, but that was it. She attributed her own bruises to an accident. She said that she tripped and hit her head on the corner of a piece of furniture.

Rivera-Ruiz said there was no physical altercation between her and Americano.

But Americano's daughter said that account wasn't true. While she didn't observe the fight, she said Rivera-Ruiz's children, a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old, did.

"Josephine (Americano) advised me that her mother and her mother's partner had been in a physical fight and that she had locked herself and (Rivera-Ruiz's) children in the bedroom and called 911," an officer wrote in the report. 

Josephine Americano said it wasn't the first time that her mother and Rivera-Ruiz had fought. She told Canton Police that similar incidents had taken place at least a couple of times in the past.

Rivera-Ruiz and Maria Americano, who both reside in the Canton apartment community with their children, were each charged with battery under the Family Violence Act and cruelty to children in the third degree, according to the report.

Both women are being held at the , said Lt. Jay Baker, spokesman for the .

Rivera-Ruiz's children are in her aunt's care. The has been notified of the incident. 

Rivera-Ruiz made headlines earlier this month when .

Attorney Lloyd Bell of Atlanta made the request because Rivera-Ruiz "did not get assurances exactly where the money was going," he said.

Jorelys was  where she lived and died. Jorelys'  was found in a Dumpster from the complex on Dec. 5. An autopsy found that she likely died 60 to 90 minutes after she disappeared. Jorelys had been compacted, but not before she was . Her throat was slit.

Brunn was  at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson on Jan. 19, two days after . An .

Stay tuned to Canton-Sixes Patch for updates on this developing story.

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For all of Canton-Sixes Patch's coverage of the Jorelys Rivera case, go to http://canton-ga.patch.com/topics/jorelys-rivera.