Hundreds turn out for vigil for slain St. Cloud woman

Family raises awareness about domestic violence

ST. CLOUD, Fla. – More than 200 people dressed in purple and black filled Lakefront Park's beach area in St. Cloud, to honor Nicole Montalvo. 

Montalvo, 33, was last seen around 5 p.m., Oct. 21, when she dropped off her 8-year-old son with his father and grandparents at their home on Hixon Avenue in St. Cloud, Osceola County Sheriff's Office officials said.

After three days of searching her in-laws' property, crime scene investigators found remains later confirmed to be that of the 33-year-old mother. Montalvo's estranged husband, Christopher Otero-Rivera, 31, and his father, Angel Luis Rivera, 63, were charged Sunday with premeditated murder in Montalvo's death. 

Members of Montalvo's family spoke in front of the crowd Monday night, many holding back tears. 

"She would be absolutely amazed to see all this turnout for her," father Edward Montalvo said. 

"She's always a part of me, and I know she's here right now seeing everyone and she's ecstatic," Montalvo's twin brother, Eddie, said.  

Montalvo's brother Steven, urged the crowd to take what happened to his sister as a lesson. 

"This affects a lot of people out there," he said. "Take some action, use this as a starting board to push the message in the fight against domestic violence. We know there are other people out there suffering from this. We know this is just the beginning. We want to honor Nicole and  we want to do right by raising [her son] Elijah to be the best young man he can be." 

At the end of the vigil, Osceola County Sheriff Russ Gibson said that the Sheriff's Office isn't ruling out more arrests in this case. 

"Everyone who had a part in this will pay for this," he said. "No one will escape this." 

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Montalvo's family. 
 


About the Author:

It has been an absolute pleasure for Clay LePard living and working in Orlando since he joined News 6 in July 2017. Previously, Clay worked at WNEP TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he brought viewers along to witness everything from unprecedented access to the Tobyhanna Army Depot to an interview with convicted double-murderer Hugo Selenski.

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