The man convicted of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts in the summer of 2018 has been sentenced to life in prison.
Christhian Bahena Rivera was convicted on May 28th for the July 18th murder of the woman, who was last seen jogging that day in Brooklyn Iowa. Her body was found on August 21st, 2018.
Bahena Rivera was to be sentenced in July before his attorneys filed motions to delay. They argued that new witnesses had come forward suggesting that someone else had confessed to killing Tibbetts.
Judge Joel Yates presided over the lengthy hearing on July 27th and ruled that the alibi alleging that Tibbets might have run afoul of an organized sex trafficking ring was speculative at best, and the theory contradicted Bahena’s testimony at his trial.
Judge Yates told Bahena Rivera at Monday afternoon’s sentencing, “You and you alone forever changed the lives of those who loved Mollie Tibbetts and because of that you and you alone will receive the following sentence.”
A victim impact statement from Mollie’s mother was read at sentencing. Laura Calderwood described how the family had to race to tell loved ones about Tibbetts’ fate before they saw it on the news and the anguish caused by Bahena Rivera.
Bahena Rivera did not give a statement before the judge read the sentence. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.