Jury continues deliberations today in Mollie Tibbetts murder trial
Hunter
05/28/21
The prosecution said a 20-year-old University of Iowa student was stabbed by a farmhand; the defense says the man was forced into a false confession. Now it’s in the jury’s hands.
Closing arguments were presented Thursday for Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s trial in Scott County District Court. WQAD TV reports that prosecuting attorney Scott Brown reviewed the evidence presented, including the video showing the defendant’s car and a runner, his confession that an officer testified to, and the blood found in the trunk of the vehicle. Brown added that Bahena Rivera led authorities to the body of Mollie Tibbetts, and reminded jurors that “she is unfindable, except by the defendant.” He went on to say that Bahena Rivera’s testimony about two armed men who made him drive around the area that day in July 2018 when Tibbetts disappeared is refuted by the video evidence. Finally, Brown said that Bahena Rivera told authorities that he was angry that Tibbetts threatened to call the police on him, which motivated the attack on the woman.
Defense attorney Chad Frese hammered on the idea that the investigation was sloppy, and called the 11-hour interview between Bahena Rivera and Officer Pamela Romero “a colossal blunder.” He also pointed out the missing elements in the case: no murder weapon, no crime scene, no eyewitnesses, and no motive. His argument also included Bahena Rivera’s contention that two armed masked men forced him to participate in the crime, and that it didn’t make sense for his client to do such a crime when he was trying to remain undetected in the United States.
In their rebuttal, the prosecution said they followed the evidence, and the evidence led them to Cristhian Bahena Rivera.
The jury began deliberations at about 1:30 Thursday afternoon and were dismissed for the night at 4:30pm. They continue their deliberations this morning.