DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — A defense attorney says a farmworker accused of killing a University of Iowa student in 2018 fell asleep during a lengthy police interrogation, indicating his partial confession may have been coerced while he was sleep deprived.
Cristhian Bahena Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the July 2018 killing of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. Jurors watched video Friday showing Bahena Rivera appearing to nod off for several minutes during the 11-hour interrogation in August 2018. Defense attorney Jennifer Frese said the videos showing him sleeping and the harsh interrogation techniques pointed to a potentially coerced confession.