Mother of Jorelys Rivera Calls for Death Penalty

Dec. 8, 2011— -- The mother of the little girl stabbed, sexually assaulted, beaten and left in a dumpster is calling on prosecutors to seek the death penalty against suspect Ryan Brunn.

Brunn is expected to plead not guilty in the death of Jorelys Rivera, but it could be a month or more before the 20-year old maintenance worker faces an indictment.

"I expect it will be weeks," Cherokee County District Attorney Garry Moss told ABCNews.com. "There'll be no public announcement concerning the indictment until such time as there is one."

Investigators declined to say what evidence they used to arrest Brunn, but told reporters he had access to the building's trash compactor.

Jorelys disappeared Friday evening from the playground at the River Ridge apartment complex in Canton, Ga., where she lived with her mother. Her body was discovered Monday underneath a pile of trash in one of the complex's dumpsters and Brunn was arrested the following day.

She was believed to have been assaulted and bludgeoned n an empty apartment at the complex where Brunn worked as a maintenance man.

Jorelys' mother, who speaks Spanish, spoke to ABC News affiliate WSB through a translator.

"I don't want any charges brought against him. What I want is the death penalty," Jocelyn Rivera said while standing near a small memorial the family had erected for Jorelys inside their apartment. "He's an animal. He killed my little angel."

Zulaika Rivera, Jorelys aunt, told the station she could not fathom what was in the mind of the killer, saying nobody in their right mind would do something like this.

Jocelyn Rivera told WSB she wants to leave the state, but because she lost custody of her other two children, she'll need to stay put for awhile longer. It wasn't immediately known why she lost custody of the children.

David Cannon, one of Brunn's appointed lawyers, told ABCNews.com that Brunn will eventually be entering a plea of not guilty.

Ryan Brunn's brother, Steven Brunn, came to his brother's defense Wednesday night, telling WSB his brother is "great with kids" and there "is never any signs of any violence."

"This has taken a big toll on the whole family. They're making my brother seem like he's a monster. My brother, he's kind hearted. He'll give to you if you want it," Steven Brunn said, who hasn't seen his brother in weeks. "This whole thing, it just don't seem possible. I mean, it's not his nature."

Brunn's Facebook page, which had once been public but was deactivated Tuesday afternoon, had been laced with expletives and also chronicled his recent move to the River Ridge apartments in November.

Prior to the move, his brother told WSB he had lived in his family's Dahlonega, Ga., house with his foster mother and four other foster kids.