SACRAMENTO—The mother of the man accused of killing six-year-old Jadianna Larsen was arrested for being an accessory after the fact to a homicide.
Lisa Burton, 46, was booked into to Sacramento County Main Jail at about 11:30 pm on Friday, May 29. She is not eligible to post bond.
Juan Rivera, 25, who has been accused of killing Larsen, appeared in Sacramento County Court on Tuesday afternoon as Judge Jaime Roman read the charge of one count of felony murder with a blunt force instrument.
Jadianna’s body was found badly burned in Glenn County, approximately 90 miles northwest of Sacramento. Prosecutors have not yet revealed a motive for the crime. An ongoing investigation is focused on finding the cause of death through toxicology tests. It could take four weeks to determine the results.
Martin Luther King Jr. Village on 47th Avenue
Rivera’s original story was that he suffered a seizure last Thursday and didn’t realize his girlfriend’s daughter Jadianna was missing until Burton came to check on him at his residence on 47th Avenue. The girl’s body had been discovered earlier that morning in Glenn County.
The child’s mother, Tanecia Clark, was away for mental health treatment at the time of her daughter’s death. Rivera regularly stayed at the Martin Luther King Jr. apartment complex with his mother and Clark.
Sacramento County court records also show that Rivera and Burton both have criminal records.
Rivera has a criminal history dating to 2010, when he pleaded no contest and was convicted in Yolo County of felony methamphetamine possession with intent to sell, and felony burglary.
Burton was convicted of several crimes in Sacramento County during the 1990s. In 1998, she pleaded no contest to a prostitution charge. That same year, she pleaded no contest to a charge of driving under the influence. In 1995, she pleaded no contest to illegally distributing hypodermic needles. That same year, she pleaded no contest to a theft charge.
Burton and Rivera are scheduled to appear in Sacramento Superior Court on June 12 at 8:30 a.m.
Update 6/16 – The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office released the results of the autopsy performed on Jadianna Larsen, revealing the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to her head, helping to confirm the charges that her death was a homicide rather than an accident. They stated the blow resulted in an acute bilateral subdural hematoma causing craniocerebral injuries.
Read More: Sacramento Bee – Suspect’s mother was also charged in connection with death of Jadianna Larsen
