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Steven Rios was convicted of first-degree homicide in 2005 for the brutal murder of Jesse Valencia, a 23 year old University of Missouri student who was found dead on June 5, 2004. Rios was the primary suspect in the murder, having had an alleged affair with Valencia, according to the Columbia Missourian.
Valencia was found dead with his throat slit on a lawn just a few short blocks from his East Campus apartment. Rios is currently serving two consecutive life sentences from the case: 30 years for murder and 23 more for armed criminal action, the Columbia Missourian reports. Rios was a police officer for the Columbia Police Department at the time of Valencia’s death.
Rios is the subject of NBC’s April 24 segment of “Dateline,” titled “Before Daylight.” The episode airs at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on NBC. The description of the episode reads, “Police look at one of their own after a student’s murder.” Here’s what we know about Rios’ conviction and prison sentence ahead of the Dateline episode:
Rios is Serving Two Consecutive Life Sentences for Valencia’s Death, But He Maintains His Innocence
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Rios was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in 2005 after limb hairs found on Valencia’s chest and DNA beneath his fingernails came back as a positive match to Rios. However, his first conviction was overturned by the Missouri Court of Appeals Western District because of “hearsay statements that were ruled inadmissible in court,” the Columbia Missourian reports. He was later given two separate sentences in 2009, equaling 53 years altogether.
According to The Cinemaholic, Rios is currently serving time at South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls, SD, and is eligible for parole in 2035. He has maintained his innocence throughout his prison sentence, telling Dateline’s Keith Morrison in February 2020, “Some people think I’m a killer. Some people think I’m not. You know, I know I’m not.” The interview is the first time Rios has spoken on camera since his conviction in 2009, according to the Columbia Missourian.
Rios is part of the prison’s pen pal program, according to The Cinemaholic. He described himself as being “family-oriented” and having children of his own on his pen pal profile, according to the publication; Rios was married and had a young son while he was having an affair with Valencia. The outlet also states that Rios is attempting to rehabilitate himself in prison, and he claims his experience in jail has “taught him to be humble and patient,” the Cinemaholic reports.
He Tried to Commit Suicide Shortly Before He Was Arrested
On June 11, 2005, just six days after Valencia died, Rios threatened to jump off the then-named Maryland Avenue parking garage on MU’s campus, according to KOMU 8 News. Although Rios has continued to claim his innocence since Valencia was found dead, former police chief Randy Boehm told KOMU that his suicide attempt was an “admission of guilt.”
“We’re saying, ‘If you’re not guilty of this, why are you reacting that way?’” Boehm told KOMU. “It actually caused us to re-evaluate his involvement in it. We began to feel like that he was reacting that way because he knew that he had done something he could not undo.”
Dateline’s “Before Daylight” airs at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. In the meantime, you can keep up with all the latest in TV coverage and entertainment news here.
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