Chrisilee Barton, whose courage helped bring serial killer Reinaldo Rivera to justice after she survived his 2000 attack, has died of cancer at 43, according to her family.
Barton was just 18 when she survived a violent attack in Augusta that changed both her life and the course of a serial murder investigation. On Oct. 10, 2000, Barton was assaulted by Rivera, who had approached her under the guise of a modeling opportunity. Despite suffering life-threatening injuries, she managed to escape and later identified Rivera, giving investigators the crucial lead that led to his capture.
Her bravery helped end a series of killings that had gripped the Augusta–Aiken area. Barton’s survival made her a symbol of courage, and local media called her “the woman who stopped a serial killer.” In an interview shortly after the arrest, Barton downplayed that title, saying she simply hoped other victims could “be at rest.”
In the years that followed, Barton’s life took difficult turns. Public records show she later faced several misdemeanor and probation-related arrests in Aiken County, South Carolina. In 2011, she was arrested in a local narcotics investigation, one of a number of low-level charges reported in subsequent years. Officials confirmed she was treated the same as any other defendant and subject to the standard legal process.
Even as she dealt with these challenges, Barton continued to be linked to the Rivera case. During his 2004 trial, she testified about the attack, helping secure Rivera’s conviction and death sentence.
Rivera remains on death row, having outlived the woman who helped put him there in a sad sign of the failed justice system.
A cousin said Barton died Friday of uterine cancer, with Hatcher Funeral Home & Cremation Service confirming that arrangements are pending.
Barton had been living between Aiken and Grovetown in recent years and was a mother of several children. The cousin said she should be honored locally as a “serial killer catcher who had to live through trauma.”
“I just feel like she should be honored for her bravery all those years ago that have affected her life tremendously,” said the cousin, who asked not to be named.
Her courage in identifying a dangerous offender continues to stand as an act that likely saved others, even as her later struggles reflect the ongoing toll that violence and survival can exact on victims.
