Amber Belken Murder took place on January 29, 2007. She was a young store manager of EB Games in San Antonio, Texas, and was tragically cut short.
Her body was discovered in the back storeroom of the store where she worked, suffocated with a plastic bag.
The police swiftly began their investigation, and after over a year, they finally caught the suspect. However, it took them a total of three years to convict him.
Let’s look into the Amber Belken murder case and learn more about what happened, who did it, and where he is now.
How did Amber Belken Die?
Amber Belken was born in San Antonio, Texas, on December 6, 1981.
She graduated from Judson High School, and at the time of her death, she had been working as a store manager of the EB Games store for about three years.
On the day of Amber Belken murder, she had played a new video game she purchased from her store with her father. She was the only child of Randy and Lelia D. Belken.
The day after playing the game, on January 29, 2007, Amber arrived at the store at around 9 a.m.
Her boyfriend received a text message from her at 9:08 a.m., saying, “I love you,” she reportedly turned off the store alarm at approximately 9:12 a.m.
Two other EB Games store managers went to check on her at around 2 a.m. when Amber could not be reached by phone.
When they arrived, they found that the store’s front door was still locked, the back door was locked from the outside, and the security bar was lifted.
Amber’s lifeless body was discovered in the back storeroom with a plastic bag covering her head. Her right hand was by her side, and her left was on her lower back.
The police arrived at the scene to discover the back room safe had been robbed empty.
Amber’s car was still parked in the parking lot in front of the store, and her mobile phone lay on the driver’s seat.
The passenger seat had a Lowe’s tote bag, and a cardboard money box with a few rolls of coins was found on the counter.
Who Killed Amber Belken?
Initially, the police and Amber’s family suspected Brandon Beil, the store’s assistant manager.
Amber was reportedly going to submit a negative evaluation of Brandon, and the police believed it might be enough motive for him to murder Amber.
However, Brandon was cleared of suspicion after several fruitless searches of his home and other witness testimonies.
It was only when a former employee of EB Games contacted the police with information that the investigators finally had a person of interest in the case.
The anonymous tipster stated that another former employee, Geovany Rivera, had approached him on the morning of the murder, asking him to help rob the store.
The individual declined and thought Rivera would not seriously act on his proposition.
In August 2008, Geovany Rivera was finally arrested by the US Marshals Service from one of his cousin’s houses in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
He was on the US Marshals’ 15 Most Wanted list then. He was charged with Amber’s murder along with two unrelated prior cases of sexual harassment.
As per the authorities, Rivera had fled to Mexico after committing the murder.
What happened in the trial of Geovany Rivera?
The Amber Belken murder trial of Geovany Rivera began in 2010, three years after the murder of Amber Belken.
During the trial, the prosecution put forth the argument that Rivera had murdered Amber during the course of a robbery. To support their claim, they presented compelling evidence – Rivera’s DNA was discovered on the bag that was used to suffocate Amber.
The defense argued that the DNA evidence was inconclusive and could have resulted from contamination.
They also contended that the witness who had provided information about Rivera’s involvement in the murder was unreliable.
After a 10-day trial, the jury found Geovany Rivera guilty of capital murder and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Where Is Geovany Rivera Now?
The investigation and trial that followed were long and complex, but justice was ultimately served with the conviction of Geovany Rivera.
He is incarcerated in a prison cell at the John M. Wynne Unit in northern Huntsville, Texas. He has been serving his sentence since 2010 and is eligible for parole on August 10, 2038.
