Illinois State Police say the 14-year-old was reported missing Friday morning and found hours later; a 43-year-old is jailed on murder and sexual assault charges.
VANDALIA, Ill. — A homicide investigation in Vandalia began with a missing-persons call at about 6:34 a.m. Friday and ended that afternoon when officers found a 14-year-old girl dead inside a locked RV behind her home. A 43-year-old man, identified by authorities as Arnold B. Rivera, was arrested and charged.
Officials said the case moved quickly because the teen, identified by relatives as Kylie Toberman, was reported missing early Nov. 14 and located within hours on the same property. The Illinois State Police are leading the investigation, with assistance from local agencies. Prosecutors in Fayette County have charged Rivera with first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault and concealing a homicidal death. The death has shaken the school community in this city of about 7,000 along Interstate 70, where counselors are being made available and neighbors have left flowers near the home.
Police said Vandalia officers received the report just after sunrise Friday. By afternoon, investigators searching the yard behind the residence found a locked recreational vehicle and located the girl’s body inside a plastic tote. Charging documents reviewed by officials allege Rivera strangled the teen and hid her body. Fayette County State’s Attorney Brenda Mathis said in court that investigators believe the killing occurred while Rivera and the girl were in a vehicle and that the assault preceded the homicide. “This is a deeply disturbing case,” Mathis said, noting that the investigation was continuing over the weekend.
An autopsy later found the cause of death to be strangulation, according to authorities familiar with the results. In court statements summarized by officials, Mathis alleged Rivera used jumper cables as the ligature and later moved the body to the RV parked behind the residence. Illinois State Police confirmed that Rivera faces counts of first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault and concealing a homicide. Vandalia police said the initial call came at 6:34 a.m. Friday and that the body was discovered later that same day during a coordinated search of the property. Rivera, 43, was taken into custody and booked into the Fayette County Jail.
The Vandalia Community Unit School District 203 said in a written statement that the student’s death was “heartbreaking” and that the district’s crisis response team and counselors would be available to support students and staff. Family members identified the victim as Kylie Toberman, a Vandalia Junior High School student who wrestled locally. Relatives said in interviews that she was adopted several years ago and that Rivera was her adoptive brother. “We were just now educated of the manner of her death and the disrespect to her body,” said Lisa Richards, the teen’s paternal grandmother. Another grandmother, Leann Deweese, called Toberman “very beautiful” and “very energetic.”
Friends and classmates described Toberman as outgoing and kind. Caitlyn Shellenbarger, a friend since preschool, said she attended Rivera’s first court appearance and left in tears. “She shouldn’t have had to go through that. She was the sweetest person, and she had so much life left to live,” Shellenbarger said. Outside the home, neighbors said investigators were present through the weekend as troopers and local officers processed the RV and collected evidence. Vandalia sits in Fayette County, roughly an hour’s drive northeast of St. Louis, and the home where the body was found is in a residential area where RVs are a common sight in backyards and side lots.
State police said the case remains active and that they are working with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the Fayette County Coroner’s Office, the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, St. Elmo police, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the FBI. Court records show Rivera is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated criminal sexual assault and concealing a homicidal death. Prosecutors told the court that the autopsy findings support the charges and that additional forensic testing is pending. Officials did not describe any ongoing threat to the public. A prior criminal record for Rivera was referenced in some filings, according to law enforcement summaries, but full details were not immediately available in the public docket Monday.
Rivera appeared in court for an initial hearing and is being held at the Fayette County Jail. A subsequent court date is set for Nov. 25 at 10 a.m. in Vandalia. Prosecutors said they will seek to keep Rivera detained pending trial. Illinois State Police said further updates would follow once laboratory results are returned and once additional interviews are completed. The school district said it would coordinate with law enforcement on communications and would continue providing counseling on campus as students return this week.
On Monday, fresh flowers and stuffed animals lined a stretch of fence near the backyard where the RV was parked. Several students in Vandalia Junior High School sweatshirts stood quietly as a parent murmured, “She was just in class last week.” A neighbor across the street said officers knocked on doors Friday afternoon asking about the RV and whether anyone had seen Rivera that morning. “People here watch out for each other,” the neighbor said. “This has everyone on edge.” As night fell, a small group gathered beside the driveway and hugged in silence.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Illinois State Police said the investigation is ongoing and no further arrests had been made. Rivera remains in custody, and the case is next due in court on Nov. 25. Officials said they expect to release additional details once lab work and evidence reviews are completed.
Author note: Last updated November 18, 2025.