Parents of alleged serial killer from California believe son innocent in Mexico murders

LOS ANGELES -- The parents of an American man accused of brutally murdering at least three women in Mexico told ABC Los Angeles affiliate KABC they can't believe their son is a criminal.

Mexican authorities allege 31-year-old California man Bryant Rivera brutally murdered at least three women in Tijuana. They are working to extradite him from custody in Los Angeles after he was arrested last week at his parent's home in Downey.

Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez, the attorney general of Baja California, said the murders of the three women, strip-club workers in Tijuana's red-light district, share identical characteristics.

And one Southern California woman who describes herself as an acquaintance of the suspect said she always felt uncomfortable around him.

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When surveillance images of a suspect were released earlier this year, they struck a nerve with Shannon Sales of Alhambra, California.

"That's when I tried calling the authorities, and the FBI -- nothing came of it," she said.

Sales said Rivera was a close friend of her ex-boyfriend and came over to her home dozens of times.

And each time she'd warn her ex-boyfriend to stop hanging out with Rivera.

"Don't talk to him," she would say. "Stay away from him. I never felt comfortable around him. There was something not right about this person."

Rivera's parents are standing by him, refusing to believe Bryant could be involved in any kind of violent crime.

"In my heart, my son is innocent," said his mother, Maria Concepcion Rivera.

And his father, who is blind, said he relies on his son to help him get to medical appointments.

But Mexican investigators are certain Rivera is their killer. They're waiting for the extradition process to unwind so they can try him in their country. They said that process can take anywhere from a matter of days to up to two years.

"We hope that he never gets out of prison," Sanchez said. "We hope it's enough so that he will never see the light of day."