Deputies say a dispute over a suspected affair escalated when the 50-year-old entered her neighbor’s home and assaulted her.
MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A 50-year-old Florida woman is facing burglary and battery charges after deputies accused her of forcing her way into a neighbor’s home and throwing a bucket containing human feces on the woman during a dispute over a suspected affair.
Yirsi Esperanza Machado Rivera was taken into custody following the Sept. 7 confrontation at the Royal Country Mobile Homes community in northwest Miami-Dade County. An arrest report says Machado Rivera believed the neighbor was having a sexual relationship with her husband. Authorities have not established that an affair actually occurred, and the allegation about the relationship came from Machado Rivera, according to reports based on the arrest affidavit.
Deputies said the confrontation began at about 6:15 p.m. when Machado Rivera went to the other woman’s side of a split trailer on Northwest 200th Terrace and began banging on the door. When the neighbor answered, Machado Rivera accused her of being involved with her husband, according to the arrest report. Investigators alleged that Machado Rivera then forced her way into the residence and shoved the woman.
Before leaving, Machado Rivera allegedly threw the contents of a bucket containing human feces onto the neighbor, deputies said. An arrest report also cited a witness who told investigators that Machado Rivera had previously said she had defecated in a bucket so she could throw it at the neighbor. The allegation forms part of the prosecution’s account and has not been tested at trial.
Machado Rivera gave investigators a different version of events. She said her toilet was broken and that she had been using the bucket before trying to dispose of its contents. According to the arrest report, she said the women argued over the smell and claimed that the neighbor struck her in the head with a bat, causing a cut. Machado Rivera denied entering the neighbor’s residence and denied throwing the contents of the bucket on her.
Reports based on Miami-Dade jail records list the charges as burglary of an occupied dwelling and battery. Machado Rivera was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after the incident. The criminal charges are accusations, and prosecutors would have to prove them in court.
Machado Rivera appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer at a bond hearing Sept. 8. Glazer summarized the state’s allegations during the proceeding and ordered Machado Rivera held without bond. The judge also directed her to have no contact with the alleged victim. NBC 6 South Florida reported that a public defender was appointed to represent Machado Rivera.
The unusual circumstances of the case have drawn widespread attention, but several aspects remain unresolved. Publicly available reporting does not establish whether the neighbor had any relationship with Machado Rivera’s husband, and no independent evidence supporting the suspected affair has been reported. Machado Rivera’s allegation that the neighbor struck her with a bat was included in her statement to investigators, but the reports reviewed do not indicate that the neighbor was charged.
Machado Rivera remained subject to pretrial detention following the bond hearing. The available reports did not establish that the burglary and battery allegations had been adjudicated, and no conviction in connection with the Sept. 7 incident had been reported as of Monday. The case will proceed through the Miami-Dade court system while the allegations remain pending.
Author note: Last updated September 15, 2026.