Boyfriend took girlfriend to McDonald’s for her last meal before stabbing her to death
Left inset: Pedro Grajales (Hartford Police Department). Right inset: Nilda Rivera (WTIC). Background: The McDonald's in Hartford, Conn., that Pedro Grajales took Nilda Rivera to before stabbing her 25 times in a parking lot (Google Maps).
A Connecticut man is headed to prison for decades after fatally stabbing his girlfriend inside his car more than 25 times, reportedly over suspicions that she was cheating on him.
Pedro Grajales, 55, of Hartford, was sentenced last Wednesday to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder in December, according to online court records reviewed by Law&Crime.
Court documents obtained by local Fox affiliate WTIC and CT Insider detail that Grajales took his girlfriend, 57-year-old Nilda Rivera of New Britain, to a McDonald’s for what he described as a “final meal” before driving her to a parking lot and killing her in April 2023. He then drove her body to a nearby police station and confessed to officers, saying he had “planned to murder her for several days” because he believed she had been unfaithful.
The arrest warrant described Grajales as acting deliberately kind toward Rivera to avoid suspicion. He had hidden a knife in his pants pocket before picking her up and taking her to the McDonald’s on Brainard Road in Hartford.
After ordering from the drive-thru, Rivera ate her meal in the parking lot while Grajales later drove her to a secluded lot nearby. He told police he pretended to exit the car to grab lumber, but instead attacked her.
The warrant said, “Grajales moved his seat all the way back so he could have enough room to swing the knife. Grajales removed the knife from his left pocket and began stabbing [Rivera] multiple times as she sat in the front passenger seat.” Grajales reportedly watched Rivera “gasp for air” and waited for her to die before driving her body to the Hartford Police Department to report the crime.
Rivera’s family described Grajales as extremely jealous. He reportedly monitored her phone and social media activity, deleting content and contacts, WTIC reported.
“My mom was just looking for love,” said Daniella Valle, Rivera’s daughter. “She was a mother. She was a grandmother. She was a friend.”
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