People v. Rivera CA1/2

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background1

T.A. began dating Rivera about June 2013. In September 2013, T.A. moved into the trailer in which Rivera and his mother lived. In November 2013, T.A. was pregnant with Rivera’s child. On November 9, 2013, Rivera became upset with T.A. after they came home from a party. Rivera began slapping T.A. in the head and face, giving her a bloody nose. He forced T.A. to take a shower, and afterwards he had her lie on the floor. Rivera straddled T.A., held a large kitchen knife to her throat, and told her that he was going to kill her. T.A. feared for her life. On November 27, 2013, T.A. left the house to shop for groceries and did not return until November 29. She was afraid to go home because she feared Rivera would hit her. When she returned home, Rivera punched her in the face more than 20 times. She began bleeding from her lip and nose. Six times Rivera “pressed down the front of her throat so she had a hard time breathing and he actually grabbed her throat and twisted it as he pushed into her throat.” Rivera also held a knife to the sides of T.A.’s throat about four times because he wanted her to cease screaming. He told her “Shut the fuck up or I’m…