The former Marine accused of murdering a family of four in their Florida home and torturing an 11-year-old girl was formally indicted by a grand jury Tuesday.
Bryan Riley, 33, faces 22 charges, including four counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder of the pre-teen and the police officers he shot at, kidnapping, arson, burglary and animal cruelty for killing the family dog.
Polk County prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek the death penalty for Riley. If not, he faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Riley has been charged with murdering 40-year-old Justice Gleason, 33-year-old Theresa Lanham; their baby boy, Jody, who was born in May, and Lanham’s mother, 62-year-old Catherine Delgado, and torturing their 11-year-old daughter, the lone survivor, by shooting her in the legs repeatedly.
According to police, Riley believed there was a sex trafficking victim hidden in the Lakeland home, a woman he called “Amber” who was going to commit suicide. Investigators have found no evidence that Riley was correct.
Riley’s girlfriend told police that the veteran, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, had recently started talking about communicating with God, but had never been violent.
___
© 2021 New York Daily News
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
