Legal Setback for Cristhian Bahena Rivera as Iowa Court Upholds Conviction of Mollie Tibbetts' Murderer, Rejects Appeal

The individual previously employed on a dairy farm, found guilty of the murder of 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts during her jog in Brooklyn, Iowa, in 2018, has failed in his attempt to exclude statements made to the police about the incident, including details about concealing the victim’s body under corn stalks, from the trial.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, currently 29 years old, has been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the Iowa State Penitentiary since August 31, 2021, following the pronouncement of his punishment.

In May 2021, jurors convicted Bahena Rivera of the assault and killing of Tibbetts. They found that he placed her body in the trunk of his car and disposed of it in a cornfield.

During the trial, despite previous unsuccessful attempts to argue that his statements to investigators were involuntary, Bahena Rivera's legal team attempted to retract his confession by claiming that he was forcibly abducted by two unknown men from his home, who then coerced him to drive them around. 

They alleged that one of these individuals was responsible for Tibbetts's murder.

Bahena Rivera and his attorneys claimed that the police interview occurred after a strenuous 12-hour work shift and that he appeared to be asleep in the interview room. They argued that, due to his limited English proficiency and the use of a translating officer from Mexico who spoke a different Spanish dialect, the confession was false. 

The defense also emphasized that Bahena Rivera wasn't adequately informed of his Miranda rights.

Despite the defense's efforts, their motion for a new trial was previously dismissed, and their appeal was rejected on Wednesday, as the court upheld the decision regarding evidence suppression and discovery violation concerns. 

The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed that the statements Bahena Rivera made to the police before an immigration detainer was imposed on him were voluntary and that he knowingly waived his Miranda rights following the discovery of Tibbetts's body.

[SOURCE]

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