Man Arrested In Connection To Death Of 11-Year-Old Haverhill Girl

HAVERHILL, MA - A Lawrence man was arrested in connection to last month's death of an 11-year-old Haverhill girl. Miguel Rivera, 58, is being held on $1 million bail and will be arraigned in Lawrence District Court on Tuesday.

Rivera was arrested Friday night and charged with permitting substantial bodily injury to a child and misleading a police investigation, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett and Lawrence Police Chief Roy Vasque said Saturday morning.

The charges are connected to the death of Precious Wallaces, who was found unresponsive in a family member's apartment on Dec. 15. Wallaces died days later.

Blodgett's office initially said the investigation did not necessarily mean there was criminal component.

"At this point in time, all possible causes are being considered - including possible exposure to a toxic substance," a spokesperson for the DA's office said the morning after Wallaces died.

Wallaces was a sixth-grade student at Consentino School.

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