A Lancaster city man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison – plus 20 years – for deliberately setting fire to his family’s home and killing his wife in 2010.

Carlos Montalvo-Rivera, 55 formerly of the 500 block of Dauphin Street, was previously convicted by jury of first-degree murder, arson, risking catastrophe, and three counts of attempted criminal homicide after a three-week trial concluding April 6, 2023.

Lancaster County Judge Dennis Reinaker ordered the mandatory life imprisonment for first-degree homicide plus 20 to 40 years; Montalvo-Rivera also owes $116,975.28 in restitution.

“The lame story you concocted and continued to hold on to simply didn’t hold any water,” Judge Reinaker said to Montalvo-Rivera before ordering sentence. “The jury didn’t believe you and I think that’s how it should be.”

Montalvo-Rivera said that intruders broke into his home, killed his wife, and set fire to it out of retaliation for the victim’s brother, who had cooperated with the DEA in an unrelated case.

Judge Reinaker then commended the work Assistant District Attorneys Christine Wilson and Jennifer Ponessa, and former Lancaster City Bureau of Police Detective Nathan Nickel did on the case.

The nearly nine-year investigation resulted in charges being filed by Nickel in 2019.

“This was an absolutely brutal and heinous crime that involved multiple victims,” Wilson said during the sentencing proceeding. “It was a cold-blooded murder. Even though the defendant refuses to admit accountability for his actions, he’s been found guilty by a jury of his peers.”

The jury agreed with the prosecution that Montalvo-Rivera first killed the victim, poured gasoline up the steps and into the victim’s bedroom, set the house on fire while his children were on the third floor, snuck out a door on the first floor, tied himself up, and attempted to create a story to cover his tracks and prove his innocence.

“Justice has been delayed, but the victim’s family has finally received it,” Wilson said.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.