WORCESTER, Mass. — A man has been charged with the murder of a boy who was found dead in a suitcase along a highway in Sterling, Massachusetts, in 2014, officials say.
In a news release, the Worcester District Attorney’s Office said Alberto L. Sierra, 32, was arraigned in court Thursday in connection to the murder of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver. Sierra has been charged with murder and disinterring a body.
Sierra was arrested on Wednesday, the district attorney’s office confirmed, according to The Associated Press. It is unclear what led to Sierra’s arrest.
Jeremiah lived with his mother in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and he was reported missing at the end of 2013, according to WFXT. Oliver’s sister reported him missing to Fitchburg school officials and reportedly told them that she had not seen her brother for weeks. She also reported that Sierra was abusing them.
Jeremiah’s body was found in April 2014 near Interstate 190 about an hour from Boston, according to the district attorney’s office.
He was last seen in September of 2013, but was not reported missing until December of 2013, the AP reported.
The AP reported that Jeremiah’s death was not ruled a homicide until Feb. 2016. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner made the ruling and listed the cause as “homicidal violence of undetermined etiology,” according to WFXT.
Sierra pleaded guilty in 2017 to three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault and battery, and two counts of reckless endangerment of a child, the news outlet reported. The charges were from incidents involving his girlfriend, Elsa Oliver, and two of her three children. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Sierra was not in custody when he was arrested Wednesday, WFXT reported.
Sierra is being held without bail and is expected back in court on May 25, the district attorney’s office said.
