Lt. Peifer’s Testimony Regarding His Trip with Robert
Rivera to Longwood Gardens on August 11, 1999
Transcript of Sworn Testimony Given September 13, 2000
Q. [16] I can take it from your
previous answers, that you and the Defendant reached an agreement about
Defendant Rivera taking you to show you exactly what happened?
A. I asked him if he would be willing to direct us to where he went with
Katelyn.
Q. And describe how that happened?
A. It was myself driving my unmarked police vehicle. Robert Rivera, Agent
Kibbie and Detective Reardon were all in one car and we drove out Baltimore
Pike south and he was directing us where the first location would be.
Q. Where was the Defendant sitting in the vehicle?
A. He was in the right rear passenger.
Q. Who was sitting next to him?
A. Detective Reardon.
Q. Was the Defendant handcuffed?
A. At this time he was.
Q. Continue.
A. We then proceeded over Route 202 at Route 1, where he had told Detective
Reardon. He pointed to a phone booth at the gas station there and said that
is [17] where I called you from that evening.
Q. You are referring to the Sunoco station of Routes 1 and 202?
A. That is correct.
Q. And that is known at Wolf Sunoco?
A. That is correct.
Q. As you passed that heading south on Route 1, he pointed to the gas
station?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say?
A. That is where I made that phone call to -- and he was referring to
Detective Reardon. We then went to the Sunoco Station. He said that is where
I had gotten gas. I believe we may have stopped there briefly, just to have
one of the uniform officers, or I may have called them on the radio to have
them interview, or find out who was working that evening. We continued to
drive south on Route 1. As I passed the Brandywine Art Museum is that the
parking lot you were in. He goes no, it was further out. I continued to
drive out. We approached Longwood Gardens. He recognized the area. He
indicated to me to drive past the Longwood Gardens firehouse to a Dairy
Queen, where he pulled in the Dairy Queen and turned around, and then
proceeded north on Route 1. He said he went up to the [18] left hand turn at
the firehouse, and he indicated that he made an illegal left turn past the
firehouse. He said the cemetery was on the left hand side. He indicated when
we passed the firehouse that he had pulled in there in the parking lot,
because Katelyn liked the fire trucks. He then left there, went into the
Longwood Gardens parking lot and indicated that there were cars parked in
the parking lot, and that he went into the foyer area of that location. He
then directed us to a spot in the rear lot, with a small tree in the middle
of the parking lot, there are trees in the parking lot out there. He
directed us to a location, we pulled up and stopped and he indicated this
was the exact location where he made the exchange of Katelyn to this couple.
Q. Let's go back just briefly to the interview that occurred at Upper
Chichester. How would you describe the Defendant's demeanor, as he was
relating the story to you?
A. I felt that he was trying to be cooperative. I thought that we had
created some type of rapport together. That the story was different than he
had first told Upper Chichester Police. So I felt that we had some type of
rapport together and I felt kind of that he trusted me, to talk to me.
Q. Well how about his demeanor. I know that [19] he seemed cooperative. But
was he upset, was he calm, was he anxious, was he nervous?
A. He was upset at times. He was complaining about Jennifer a lot during
this interview. He broke into tears sometimes, and then would just come back
and talk normal and that was pretty much it.
Q. How about his demeanor as you drove from the Upper Chichester Police
Station to Longwood Gardens?
A. His demeanor was fine, he was not crying at the time. The time that he
started crying, I believe was when we finally got to the point of where he
had exchanged the child, I know he got upset when he was there.
Q. Now once you learned -- strike that. Once he directed you to the point
where this alleged exchange took place. What occurred next?
A. We had contacted Ridley Township Canine, the Pennsylvania State Police,
both the Franklin Center Barracks and the Avondale Barracks, and had some
police from Upper Chi with us, and we conducted an extensive search of that
area with a dog, a scent dog. We had gotten some of Katelyn's clothing and
had the dog try to locate any scent of Katelyn on the property.
Q. And where was Mr. Rivera when these searches were taking place? [20]
A. In the rear of my county car.
Q. Who was with him?
A. Agent Kibbie, Detective Reardon, myself we would switch off. Some of us
were doing searches, but we always had someone stay at the car.
Q. Did you have any conversations with Mr. Rivera while these searches were
ongoing?
A. Towards the end of the searches I had asked him. I said if I called your
mother, would you talk to your mother on the phone.
Q. Why did you offer an opportunity for this Defendant who was in custody
and charged with a crime to talk to his mother?
A. My purpose was to try to recover Katelyn, to find out where Katelyn was,
and I wasn't having any luck with the dogs. So I thought this would be an
opportunity for me to find out where Katelyn was.
Q. Did you express to the Defendant your dissatisfaction with the story that
he told you to this point?
A. I told him Robert, the type of people that come to Longwood Gardens,
don't come here and leave with a child. I said I don't believe the story.
You have to tell me where she is, and he kept insisting that was his story,
that was the story. I said Robert, this [21] doesn't add up. You don't meet
someone, the type of people that go to Longwood aren't the type of people
that leave and never disclose that they have a child. If at all the people
would immediately go to the police and say this guy just gave me a child.
Q. To the best of you of your recollection, did these observations occur
before he talked to his mother, or after?
A. Before.
Q. And would you describe his demeanor, as you expressed to him
dissatisfaction with the story at this point?
A. He was trying to be convincing. He was trying to convince me that was
exactly what happened.
Q. You are saying he was trying to convince you. What did he say or do that
led you to conclude that you were being convinced?
A. He said, “No, that is what happened.” He said he met the woman, and he
went through the whole story again. He continued to tell me the same story
that yes there was a person in the green van, and I am sure there was a
bird standing on one foot on the back of the license plate. Reiterating
everything that he had previously told me.
Q. Were you relating to him the results of [22] the search as they were
ongoing?
A. I don't know if I was relating it to him, but he realized they weren't
finding anything.
Q. How do you know that?
A. Well because we still were looking, and we left there with no results.
Q. Now you testified you allowed him the opportunity to call his mother?
A. Yes.
Q. How did that occur?
A. He supplied me with his mother's number, and I contacted her and I told
her the situation that Robert claims that he had given his child to someone
at Longwood Gardens. I asked her if she would be willing to talk to him and
try to determine the location of Katelyn. I then handed him the cell phone.
Q. Did he make this phone call in your presence?
A. Yes.
Q. Were you able to hear him talk?
A. Yes.
Q. What did he say?
A. He reiterated the same story that he had offered to me that he had gave
the child away, and that is what he did. [23]
Q. What was his tone or demeanor like as he talked to his mother?
A. He started crying when he was talking to his mother.
Q. Did he cry throughout the conversation?
A. Pretty much.
Q. How long did the conversation last?
A. I would say probably not more than five minutes.
Q. How did it end?
A. I took the phone from him, his mother was still on the phone. I explained
to her that people just don't come to Longwood Gardens, the same thing and
leave with a child. She indicated that she didn't think he would be able to
hurt Katelyn.
Q. What time did the search of the Longwood Gardens area conclude?
A. Between 12 and 12:30.
Q. How long were you out there with Rivera, by the way. What time did you
leave?
A. Approximately around 9:15 or 9:30 at night.
Q. And was the Longwood Gardens open for business or closed?
A. Closed. [24]
Q. What did you do with Mr. Rivera at the conclusion of the search?
A. He was placed in an Upper Chichester Police car and transported to Media
headquarters where he was housed over night.
Q. Was that your last contact with Robert Rivera on August 11, 1999?
A. It was.