PA man drugged 72-year-old mother's iced tea with fentanyl before killing her: prosecutors

Investigators say the suspect diluted fentanyl in his mother's iced tea on Saturday night.

By6abc Digital Staff WPVI logo
Monday, April 10, 2023
DA: Bucks Co. man drugged mother with fentanyl, killed her in Philly
A missing 72-year-old woman from Bucks County has been found dead in Philadelphia, and her son is now charged with the killing.

PHILADELPHIA -- A man is accused of drugging his 72-year-old mother with fentanyl, then driving her from Bucks County to Philadelphia where he allegedly shot and killed her.

Sean Rivera, 28, is charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and a slew of other offenses for the death of his mother, Carol Clark.

Sean Rivera

Rivera lived with Clark in the 500 block of Berwyn Road in the Morrisville section of Falls Township.

According to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office, the investigation began with a reported domestic dispute between two brothers over the whereabouts of their mother.

Detectives say Rivera had called his brother in New York on Sunday morning to tell him their mother had died.

When his brother arrived, Rivera would not tell him where she was, investigators say.

Carol Clark

Falls Township police were contacted, and they put out a missing person alert for Clark.

The D.A.'s office said detectives eventually concluded that Rivera diluted fentanyl in his mother's iced tea on Saturday night. She was left in a "conscious but lethargic" state, investigators say.

Rivera then allegedly placed her in her vehicle and drove her to a shed outside a behavioral center in the 4300 block of Waln Street in the city's Frankford section between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. Sunday.

Once there, investigators say Rivera used bolt cutters to cut off padlocks, placed his mother inside, then shot her multiple times.

He then closed the shed and locked it with a padlock he purchased, authorities say.

Detectives obtained search warrants for the home and vehicle. They allegedly found two guns, a Home Depot receipt, a padlock and an empty padlock package.

Chopper 6 was over the scene of a shooting at a behavioral center in the Frankford section of Philadelphia on Monday.

A set of bolt cutters was also found inside the vehicle.

Clark's body was found in the shed around 1 a.m. Monday.

The shed was opened with a key obtained from Rivera, the D.A.'s office said.

Sources indicated to Action News there is a connection between the family and that location on Waln Street in Frankford, though that connection was not immediately clear.