Background: The Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Google Maps). Inset: Kimberly Rivera (Broward County Sheriff”s Office).
A woman from Florida has voluntarily turned herself in to authorities following allegations that she admitted to squeezing her infant son.
Kimberly Rivera, aged 29, is currently detained at the Broward County Main Jail. She faces charges of aggravated child abuse and child neglect. According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the investigation into Rivera was initiated on October 18, 2025. This followed an alert from medical professionals at Broward General Medical Center to the Department of Children and Families about a baby boy who arrived with a fractured collarbone and rib.
Initially, Rivera suggested her older son might have been responsible for the baby’s injuries. However, police reports indicate she later confessed to feeling frequently “overwhelmed,” depressed, and “not really okay,” though she maintained she would “never, never take it [out]” on her children.
The affidavit reveals that a close acquaintance of Rivera informed police about her admission, in which she reportedly stated, “I squeezed the baby.” This confession came amid tears, with the witness noting Rivera’s emotional distress and mention of “suicidal thoughts.”
After being read her Miranda rights, Rivera was interviewed by police again. During this session, when questioned about the squeezing incident, she allegedly acknowledged, “That’s probably why he has those fractures, because of me.” She demonstrated her actions using a pillow but acknowledged that since “he’s just a baby,” the squeezing “would’ve hurt him really bad.”
Police said Rivera believed she had postpartum depression, and her “frustration just took over.” She also expressed remorse, saying, “I’m sorry that I didn’t come clean to you guys, I was just afraid.” During the interview, she reportedly expressed suicidal thoughts and was hospitalized under the Baker Act.
When police searched her phone, they said she also wrote a confession on Oct. 20, 2025, in her Notes app that read, “One night I let the frustration and [postpartum] depression get over me and I squeezed [redacted] because he wouldn’t stop crying.”
Police wrote in the probable cause affidavit that Rivera was subsequently admitted to a mental health facility following the alleged abuse incident. According to local independent news station WPLG, Rivera approached a deputy from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office on Monday and told him that she believed there was an active warrant out for her arrest. She was brought to the Broward County Main Jail, where she remains in custody without bail.
Rivera is scheduled to be arraigned on June 1.