Murder Trial Begins Tuesday In 2017 Braintree Hotel Killing

BRAINTREE, MA — The trial for two people charged with bounding and killing a Massachusetts woman in a Braintree hotel will begin on Tuesday, according to Norfolk County superior court records.

Kenyonte Galmore and Kentavious Coleman had their final pre-trail conference on Monday morning before the trial begins Tuesday. They are charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping and unarmed robbery.

Galmore and Coleman were extradited from Mississippi in 2018, where they were in custody on unrelated charges.

The duo, along with Juana Rivera of Lawrence, are charged with murdering Reina Rodriguez in 2017 at the Hyatt Place hotel in Braintree.

According to a previous Patch report, Rodriguez was part of a sex and robbery operation. Rivera, who allegedly recruited the victim into the operation, is charged with first-degree murder, assault with intent to murder, unarmed robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy, human sex trafficking, and prostitution.

Prosecutors say 19-year-old Reina Rodriguez of Lawrence was found dead, nude from the waist up, and bound with cell phone cables in a hotel room at the Hyatt on June 22, 2017. It's alleged that she was brought into the operation by Rivera, who told the essentially homeless teen that she could make a lot of money. The two, along with others, ran ads on Backpage.com with the intent of luring clients to hotel rooms to rob them.

It's alleged that Rivera conspired with Kentavious Coleman and Kenyonte Galmore to rob Rodriguez.