Prosecution wraps up case against man accused of stabbing UI student to death
AP/Hunter
05/25/21
The prosecution wrapped up its case Monday against a Mexican National accused in the stabbing death of a 20-year-old University of Iowa student.
Cristhian Bahena Rivera is on trial in the first-degree murder case of Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared while on a run in July 2018.
During Monday’s proceedings, Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta recalled the extensive search for Tibbetts in the month she was missing, saying that the corn and soybean fields were fully grown and the ditches were overgrown. K9’s involved in the search tired easily due to the oppressive July heat.
Vileta said nothing was adding up until that home security camera showed Tibbetts running and the circling black Chevy Malibu that belonged to Bahena Rivera. Investigators wanted to speak to him, but a shortage of Spanish-speaking officers hindered their ability to question him. Vileta said it took four days to get someone to translate for Bahena Rivera.
The man’s attorneys continued to press their belief that investigators overlooked dangerous and suspicious men in the area, including one that lived about a quarter mile from where Mollie’s body was found. They also cited the fact that the murder weapon has never been found.
After the prosecution rested their case, Bahena Rivera’s attorneys asked for a motion of acquittal, saying that their case did not meet the legal requirements to prove Murder in the First or Second Degree. It was denied by Judge Joel Yates
Bahena Rivera faces a life sentence if convicted.