Hunter
06/16/20
Lawyers for the state of Iowa and Cristhian Bahena Rivera have filed a joint motion to further delay the trial for the murder of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts into next year due to coronavirus concerns.
Bahena Rivera is facing first degree murder charges in connection with the 2018 death of Tibbetts. The trial has been moved to Woodbury County due to pre-trial publicity and is currently scheduled to begin September 29th.
Court documents filed Monday are asking the trial to be moved to January 26th, 2021.
A list of concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic include how effectively interpreters can do their jobs if everyone is wearing a mask, and difficulty with social distancing. The two sides also cite the expected glut of cases that will be heard in Woodbury County once it’s deemed safe to do so.