Her alleged killer, 24-year-old Cristhian Rivera, led investigators to the college student's body in a farm field on Tuesday, according to authorities. The manner of death was ruled homicide, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said Thursday.
Slain Iowa jogger Mollie Tibbetts died from "multiple sharp force injuries" according to the preliminary results of her autopsy, officials said Thursday. Tibbetts, a 20-year-old rising sophomore at the University of Iowa, disappeared the evening of July 18 while jogging in the rural farming town of Brooklyn, a close-knit community ...
The suspect, 24-year-old Cristhian Rivera, is an undocumented immigrant who lives in the rural area where the college student vanished one month ago, according to Rick Rahn of the Iowa Division ...
Rivera led authorities to Tibbetts' body, according to Rahn. Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student, went missing after going out for a jog on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. "I can't really speak about the motive," Rahn said.
Yarrabee Farms, where Rivera had worked for four years, released a statement saying, "This individual has worked at our farms for four years, was vetted through the government's E-Verify system, and was an employee in good standing. On Monday, the authorities visited our farm and talked to our employees.
Rivera claimed Tibbetts grabbed her phone and said, "I'm gonna call the police," according to an arrest affidavit. Rivera told authorities he then panicked, got mad and "blocked" his "memory," and didn't remember anything after that until he reached an intersection, according to the affidavit.
Mollie Tibbetts, 20, vanished while on a jog in Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18. Twenty-year-old Mollie Tibbetts mysteriously disappeared after she was last seen running in Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18. A first-degree murder charge was filed on Tuesday against a young man in the case of missing Iowa jogger Mollie Tibbetts, state officials said Tuesday.
Tibbetts, a 20-year-old rising sophomore at the University of Iowa, disappeared the evening of July 18 while jogging in the rural farming town of Brooklyn, a close-knit community of about 1,500 residents. Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office. Authorities are searching for Mollie Tibbetts, 20, after she went missing while out for a run in Brooklyn, ...
A missing person billboard for University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. One of Tibbetts' brothers, Scott Tibbetts, told ABC News last month he believed his sister was "fighting her best to get back home.".
Rivera led police to the body of Tibbetts in a Poweshiek County cornfield on August 21. He was charged with first-degree murder. On May 28, 2021, Rivera was found guilty of first-degree murder.
On July 18, 2018, American University of Iowa student Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts disappeared while jogging near her home in Brooklyn, Iowa. A month later, police identified 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera as a suspect in connection with the disappearance;
Tibbetts's father said, "The Hispanic community are Iowans. They have the same values as Iowans.
At the time of her disappearance, she was a resident of Brooklyn, Iowa, a small town about 70 miles (110 km) east of Des Moines, and a psychology major at the University of Iowa .
Over the next several weeks, police in multiple states investigated hundreds of leads in the case, including an unconfirmed sighting at a truck stop in Kearney, Missouri (later confirmed to have been false), but were not able to locate Tibbetts. They received over 2,300 tips and conducted over 500 interviews during the course of the investigation. As she was known to always wear her Fitbit activity tracker, police attempted to use its data to help find her.
Disappearance. On July 18, 2018 , Tibbetts, a former cross country runner, left the home of her boyfriend's brother in Brooklyn for an evening jog. She was last seen at approximately 7:30 p.m. CDT and was reported missing by her family when she did not show up for work the following day.
On August 22, 2018, Rivera was charged with first-degree murder. The judge raised his bond from $1 million to $5 million when the prosecutor noted him as a flight risk.
Mollie Tibbetts, 20, who attended the University of Iowa, disappeared in July while jogging. Authorities were awaiting test results to make a positive identification, Rich Rahn, special agent in charge of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, told reporters.
Rivera's black Chevrolet Malibu appeared in the video, helping lead investigators to him, Rahn said. Tibbetts is also seen jogging in one of the clips from the surveillance camera, Rahn said.
Authorities were led to the body in the early hours of 21 August, in a cornfield in Poweshiek County - which includes Ms Tibbetts' Brooklyn hometown. The body had corn stalks placed on top of it, Mr Rahn told reporters.
Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations special agent Rick Rahn said in a press conference Mr Rivera is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. Mr Rivera allegedly saw Ms Tibbetts running and followed her before he says he "blacked out".
Police received more than 4,000 tips during their 34-day investigation. Investigators had previously used social media and Fitbit data in an effort to trace her. After the arrest, President Donald Trump told an audience at a rally in West Virginia the crime "should have never happened".
Mr Rahn said Mr Rivera was "very compliant" and willing to talk, and said that he led police to her body. An arrest warrant says Mr Rivera is charged with murder in the first degree. He would receive a mandatory life sentence if convicted. image copyright. Police handout.
Mr Rivera allegedly saw Ms Tibbetts running and followed her before he says he "blacked out". "I can't speak about the motive," Mr Rahn told reporters. "I can just tell you that it seemed that he followed her, seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day, for whatever reason he chose to abduct her.".