Sailor Stabs Wife, Hangs Self After Returning From Deployment, Police Say

A junior sailor who just completed a six-month deployment on USS Nimitz was found dead with his wife in their Bremerton, Washington, home last week in an apparent murder-suicide, police say.

Police on Dec. 20 identified the deceased couple as Airman Francisco Rivera, 23, and his wife, Marie Aurora Rivera, 22, both natives of Anchorage, Alaska, according to the Kitsap Sun. Detectives, who had been called to the home last Wednesday after friends found the remains, told the Sun that Rivera fatally stabbed his wife “multiple times” before hanging himself.

ARABIAN GULF (Aug. 12, 2017) U.S. Navy Airman Francisco Rivera, from Anchorage, Alaska, and a Marine move fruit aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Aug. 12, 2017, in the Arabian Gulf. Police say Rivera, 23, killed his wife and himself in their Bremerton, Wash., home this month, after he returned from the Nimitz's deployment.U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ian Kinkead)

Rivera enlisted in the Navy in late 2015 and had no negative disciplinary marks in his record, service officials told Navy Times Dec. 20. The airman had reportedly sailed with the Nimitz carrier strike group for its recent Pacific and Arabian Gulf deployment, in which the carrier visited 10 ports from Hawaii to Dubai and flew at least 1,000 sorties in Iraq and Syria, according to Navy officials.

The Nimitz returned to its Bremerton homeport on Dec. 10, just three days before police found the Riveras’ bodies.

In addition to the service’s investigation, Bremerton police are also looking for facts related to the case. Anyone with relevant information can contact them at Bremerton Police at 360-473-5228.