The Murder of Kylie Toberman- relative arrested
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Kylie Marie Kutz Toberman, 14, of Vandalia, Illinois, was reported missing on Friday, November 14, 2025. She had not been seen since 9 p.m. the previous night.
Vandalia is located around an hour east of St. Louis.
Her family described her as beautiful, energetic, a loyal friend, a devoted sister, and a talented wrestler who was part of the school wrestling team — the Vandal Wrestling Takedown Club.
The Illinois State Police began investigating the teenager’s disappearance, and it didn’t take long for them to locate the missing girl’s remains.
Kylie’s body was found by investigators in an RV behind her home on the 1100 block of West Gallatin Street, Vandalia, in Fayette County, just a few hours after the missing person report was made.
Her killer had stuffed her body into a blue tote bag.
Kylie lived at the residence with her adoptive mother, Donna Toberman, 65, and her two half-sisters.
On the night of November 14, After previously posting a Missing Child report, The Washington County, Illinois Emergency Management Agency put out a statement searching for a person of interest that read:
“The Vandalia Police Department are now also actively searching for Arnold B. Rivera Jr. M/W DOB: 02/12/1982. Rivera was last seen wearing a grey work shirt with blue jeans. If you locate Rivera please do not approach Rivera but call 911 immediately.”
43-year-old Arnold B. Rivera Jr. is Kylie’s step-uncle, and he was living behind the residence in the RV where the victim’s body was found.
Media outlets soon began to report that Rivera had a criminal record stretching back to 2000, where charges including criminal sexual abuse involving a child between the ages of 9 and 16, as well as burglary, were dismissed after he pleaded guilty to felony aggravated battery. Rivera was sentenced to 30 months of probation.
Rivera was apprehended and arrested by Illinois State Police sometime between November 14–17 and charged with first-degree murder, criminal sexual assault, and concealing a homicide.
Kylie was adopted in 2018. Her paternal grandmother, Lisa Richards, said she and Kylie’s biological family had “minimal contact” with Kylie after the adoption “due to extenuating circumstances.” Richards said she was not aware that Kylie was in “such a dangerous, volatile situation.”
After hearing the details revealed in a court appearance, Richards said:
“We were just now educated of the manner of her death and the disrespect to her body, and it should’ve never happened. That’s all, it should’ve never happened.”
Kylie Toberman’s biological family expressed anger towards the Illinois Department of Children and Families, saying they allowed Kylie to slip through the cracks after finding out that they were allegedly contacted “several different times by several different people since January.”
The family said they were not aware of Kylies situation.
In a Daily Mail interview, Paige Stone, who the outlet says is Rivera’s ex-partner and the mother of his children, alleged that Rivera called her on November 14 and confessed to “losing it” and killing Kylie Toberman. This has not been confirmed by officials.
Although the Fayette County Coroner initially said in a statement that the manner and cause of Kylie’s death would not be announced due to the pending investigation, media outlets would soon start reporting that she had been strangled to death.
Autopsy would later reveal that the victim had been sexually assaulted and that the cause of death was strangulation. Rivera had allegedly strangled Kylie with a set of jumper cables after allegedly sexually assaulting her in his car.
On November 21, Kylie’s adoptive mother, 65-year-old Donner Toberman, was arrested on four counts of unlawful possession of a firearm without the requisite Firearm Owner’s Identification card. The firearms were discovered after a search warrant was executed at the Toberman residence.
Kylie’s wrestling team made a post to their social media account on November 15, sharing the news that she had been murdered.
“It is with a heavy heart that we share the news that we lost one of our wrestlers,” they wrote.
“Our team and community are grieving the loss of such a sweet and bright young girl. We are planning to do something special in her honor, and we ask for patience as we take some time to grieve and support one another.”
A candlelit vigil attended by hundreds of people was held on November 22.
Kylie’s biological family were also in attendance. The majority of the people at the vigil did not know Kylie personally but said that she was “one of their babies,” and that they wanted closure for those in the community.
Update: Although most media outlets reporting on the case refer to Rivera as the victim’s “step-uncle,” some state that he is technically her adoptive brother. Kylie and her half-sisters, Cora and Camilla, were taken from their home several years ago and placed in the care of Cora and Camilla’s grandmother, Donner Toberman. Donner Toberman became Kylie’s legal guardian and adoptive mother. Arnold Rivera is Donner Toberman’s son, making him Kylie’s adoptive brother.