Where is former police officer Steven Rios today? Whereabouts explored ahead of new NBC Dateline episode

Steven Rios, a Columbia, Missouri, cop and wedded dad of-one, was sentenced in the 2004 killing of 23-year-old Jesse Valencia, a College of Missouri understudy.

Valencia was found with a profound slice to his neck on June 5 and experimental outcomes showed that he was reasonable killed by Rios in the early morning hours of that day. The two were purportedly engaged with a s*xual relationship.

Disclaimer: This article contains depictions of homicide and viciousness. Tact is encouraged.

Rios was at first sentenced for first-degree murder and outfitted heinous act, getting life, in addition to ten extra years in jail.

Be that as it may, he was conceded a retrial thereafter, which occurred in 2008. At the retrial, he was indicted for second-degree murder and furnished horrendous act, getting existence with 23 extra years with parole.

As per reports, Steven Rios is right now spending time in jail at the South Dakota State Prison in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha District.

An all-new Dateline episode on NBC returns to Jesse Valencia’s homicide case from almost twenty years prior this Friday, February 24, 2023. The rundown for the episode, named Before Light, states:

Steven Rios, a previous Columbian cop, was seen as at real fault for homicide by a jury of 24 individuals, while his ex and previous parents in law agreed with his position, keeping up with his guiltlessness regarding this situation.

Yet again rios was first sentenced in 2005 for killing 23-year-old MU understudy Jesse Valencia close to his East Grounds home in Columbia on June 5, and during a retrial in 2008. His obvious actual connection with Valencia, who was gay, was supposedly the main impetus behind the homicide. Rios dreaded losing his family and work assuming that anyone learned about the undertaking, as per the arraignment.

In court, he admitted to the issue however denied his association in the homicide. No matter what his cases, the dad of-one got a lifelong incarceration for the second-degree murder of 23-year-old Valencia. Reports express that he is right now spending time in jail at the South Dakota State Jail in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and will probably be qualified for parole in 2035.

Steven Rios’ ex Libby allegedly talked about the homicide, the preliminaries, and life a while later, guaranteeing that his activities overturned as long as she can remember and constrained her to persevere through misery. Notwithstanding, she asserted that the proof neglected to demonstrate his association. She likewise referenced that his way of behaving was actually to be expected and that she never saw any injuries, scratches, or blood on him after the homicide.

Libby Sullivan supposedly said,

“I told myself, until I see something confirmation, until I see something that shows me that he did this I must be steady.”
As indicated by the indictment, hair and other DNA proof found on Jesse Valencia’s body demonstrated that Rios was the killer. Indicting lawyer Morley Swingle supposedly expressed:

“His DNA was on the sheets. His DNA is on three spots. It’s on the hairs on the casualty’s chest, it’s under the casualty’s finger nails, it’s on the casualty’s sheets. That is executioner’s DNA in three better places. That is not a protection. It’s more proof of his culpability.”
In any case, Steven Rios’ safeguard contended that the DNA was evidence of s*x and not murder.

Jesse’s mom had a funny feeling that fateful day…
More tonight at 9/8c on a 2-hour #Dateline mystery. pic.twitter.com/JfCHawgMiL

— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) February 24, 2023

Libby Sullivan’s folks, John and Suzanne, additionally expressed that the absence of strong proof neglected to demonstrate Rios’ responsibility. That’s what the couple said despite the fact that they didn’t really accept that Rios was honest all along, conditional proof introduced in court demonstrated them in any case.

Backing the protection’s cases, John and Suzanne Sullivan purportedly said,

“It’s anything but an issue of attempting to guard him since he was our child in-regulation. This is on the grounds that we really accept he is guiltless and it’s off-base for somebody who’s honest to be in prison until the end of their lives. It’s simply unacceptable. Furthermore, that implies there is somebody who might be listening who carried out the homicide.”