MOUNT LAUREL, NJ — A 27-year-old woman from Mount Laurel has been sentenced to 30 years in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of her mother. The sentencing for Marisa Rivera, which encompasses charges of first-degree murder and weapon possession offenses, was issued by the Hon. Terrence R. Cook in Superior Court in Mount Holly on March 8.
The case began when the body of 56-year-old Denise DeNapoli was found in their shared Ramblewood Village apartment on September 6, 2019. Mount Laurel Police Department officers discovered the victim during a wellness check initiated after DeNapoli failed to report for her remote work.
Rivera was convicted of stabbing her mother to death in the early hours of the same day and then fleeing. She was apprehended several hours later at a hotel on Route 73 by local police without incident.
The cause of death was confirmed as multiple stab wounds by the Burlington County Medical Examiner. The trial revealed a deteriorating relationship between Rivera and DeNapoli prior to the murder.