DNA tests have confirmed that the blood found in the trunk of an illegal immigrant’s car was that of Mollie Tibbetts, prosecutors said in a new court filing.
Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student, was murdered in mid-2018 after vanishing while jogging.
Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was arrested on Aug. 21, about a month after she disappeared. He told police officers that he saw her jogging and got out to talk to her but he frightened the girl, who told him, “I’m gonna call the police.”
Rivera said he blacked out under waves of panic and anger and when he regained consciousness he was in his car with Tibbetts’ body in the trunk.
Now blood found in that trunk has been confirmed to be of Tibbetts, according to court documents obtained by The Gazette.
Rivera later led investigators to the cornfield where he dumped the girl’s body and an autopsy showed she was killed by stabbing.
The illegal alien’s defense attorneys have tried getting Rivera’s confession thrown out, claiming he wasn’t read his Miranda rights at the start of the interview he had with police, which lasted nearly 12 hours.
In another document filed recently, prosecutors said that investigators indeed didn’t read Rivera his Miranda rights at first but that was because he was not in custody. When federal agents found he was illegally in the country, he was detained and read his rights.
Rivera was taken to an unlocked room and given a slew of breaks and food and water, further indication that he wasn’t in custody, prosecutors said.
Defense attorneys also want any evidence found in Rivera’s vehicle to not be allowed into the trial, claiming that investigators told him he didn’t need a lawyer. But prosecutors said in response that Rivera gave verbal and written consent to officers searching his vehicle, noting that a federal agent who speaks Spanish was the intermediary. Rivera reportedly speaks little English and has required a translation device during court appearances.
Surveillance footage from near the scene of where Tibbetts vanished was reviewed on Aug. 15 and detectives spotted a vehicle later linked to Rivera, who as an illegal alien was not legally allowed to drive. Law enforcement officers found Rivera at his place of employment, Yarrabee Farms, on Aug. 20 and he consented to them searching the vehicle and another car.
He also agreed to go to the sheriff’s office for the interview.
“The Defendant was not confronted with specific evidence of guilt during the interview because, at that time, police had little evidence of guilt with which to confront Rivera. The Defendant was questioned because he drove a car that was similar to one seen on the video at the approximate time the jogger believed to be Mollie was observed,” prosecutors stated in the filing, reported Local 5.
Rivera kept his cell phone and was told where the exits were. Several hours into the lengthy interview, he was taken into custody after his immigration status was made known.
“At approximately 11:30 p.m., a federal immigration agent interviewed the Defendant by phone concerning whether he was in the country illegally. Following the interview, the Defendant was advised that a detainer would be placed on him. The decision to place the Defendant in custody was made by ICE, without consulting Officer Romero, who was interviewing the Defendant,” prosecutors added.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for June 25; the murder trial is slated to start on Sept. 3.
