Inset, left to right: Iris Rivera-Santos and Edgar Ismalej-Gomez (Stamford Police Dept.). Background: Cummings Park in Connecticut where the couple’s toddler was buried in a shallow grave (Google Maps).
In Connecticut, a couple has been sentenced to over a decade behind bars following their involvement in the tragic death of their 2-year-old son. His remains were found buried in a shallow grave at a local park almost three years prior.
On Tuesday, Iris Rivera-Santos and Edgar Ismalej-Gomez entered guilty pleas to all charges related to the death of little Liam Rivera, as indicated by court documents. The charges they faced included acts of intentional cruelty towards a child, risking injury to a minor, evidence tampering, conspiracy, and unlawfully moving a deceased body.
Following their admissions, a judge from Fairfield County Superior Court sanctioned plea agreements requiring each parent to serve a 16-year sentence in a state prison, as reported by the Stamford Advocate. Source
Interestingly, neither Rivera-Santos nor Ismalej-Gomez confessed to causing Liam’s death, even though the medical examiner confirmed the toddler died from “multiple blunt force traumas to the head.”
Despite the plea, Ismalej-Gomez’s lawyer, Dominick Angotta, emphasized his client’s insistence on his innocence.
“Edgar firmly asserts he was not involved in the child’s death,” Angotta explained to News 12, a New York-based cable station, after the court proceedings. “He has undeniably made poor decisions, and today, he has taken full responsibility for those choices.” Source
Rivera-Santos and her attorney reportedly declined to comment following Tuesday’s hearing.
As Law&Crime previously reported, police found Liam wrapped in plastic bags and buried in Cummings Park on Jan. 2, 2023. The park is about 40 miles northeast of Manhattan. Ismalej-Gomez was arrested within 24 hours and his wife was taken into custody about a month later.
Police said the investigation began with a call about Liam being kidnapped, but investigators soon “received information” that led them to Cummings Park.
“Officers responded and the preliminary information was that [Liam] may have been buried in an area of Cummings Park,” Stamford Police Chief Timothy Shaw said in a previous statement. “Officers located a possible area with fresh dirt moved around and unearthed a plastic bag where the two year old was inside.”
Rivera-Santos initially claimed she was held hostage by Ismalej-Gomez after their son’s death.
The mother told investigators that after she found Liam dead in her room, Ismalej-Gomez held her at gunpoint for several days and made her go with him to and from West Virginia. She claimed she eventually escaped, bought a phone, and called her attorney. However, investigators said text messages that Rivera-Santos deleted from her phone showed that the mother’s story about being kidnapped had been fabricated.
Ismalej-Gomez and Rivera-Santos are currently scheduled to appear in court again for their formal sentencing hearing Feb. 10, 2026, records show.
