08-21-2018, 06:21 PM
Police say a man in the country illegally has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts.
A charge of first-degree murder has been filed against 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera. If convicted, the charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Investigators say they used surveillance video in tracking Rivera. The video showed Tibbetts jogging in a rural area near her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, as well as near Rivera’s car on July 18.
Earlier Tuesday, investigators announced a body believed to be Tibbetts was found in rural Poweshiek County.
Tibbetts, a 20-year-old student at the University of Iowa, had been missing since July 18.
A federal agency says Bahena Rivera is a citizen from Mexico who was in the country illegally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a statement Tuesday stating it had “lodged a detainer” with the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office to hold Bahena Rivera after he was charged.
At a news conference, Rick Rahn, special agent in charge with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said Bahena Rivera had been living in the area for four to seven years.
Greg Willey of Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa said he learned of the discovery from a close family friend of Mollie Tibbetts on Tuesday morning. Willey said he had no other details about the discovery but called it a “tough” ending to the search for the college student.
Tibbetts vanished from her hometown of Brooklyn, a town of about 1,400 in central Iowa. Investigators said she was last seen on a routine jog through the streets of the city. It’s unclear whether she returned to the home where she was dog-sitting for her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s brother, both of whom have said they were out of town when Tibbetts went missing.
Willey’s group has been administering a reward fund that raised nearly $400,000 for any tip leading to Tibbetts’ safe return.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/...tory.html#
A charge of first-degree murder has been filed against 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera. If convicted, the charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Investigators say they used surveillance video in tracking Rivera. The video showed Tibbetts jogging in a rural area near her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, as well as near Rivera’s car on July 18.
Earlier Tuesday, investigators announced a body believed to be Tibbetts was found in rural Poweshiek County.
Tibbetts, a 20-year-old student at the University of Iowa, had been missing since July 18.
A federal agency says Bahena Rivera is a citizen from Mexico who was in the country illegally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a statement Tuesday stating it had “lodged a detainer” with the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office to hold Bahena Rivera after he was charged.
At a news conference, Rick Rahn, special agent in charge with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said Bahena Rivera had been living in the area for four to seven years.
Greg Willey of Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa said he learned of the discovery from a close family friend of Mollie Tibbetts on Tuesday morning. Willey said he had no other details about the discovery but called it a “tough” ending to the search for the college student.
Tibbetts vanished from her hometown of Brooklyn, a town of about 1,400 in central Iowa. Investigators said she was last seen on a routine jog through the streets of the city. It’s unclear whether she returned to the home where she was dog-sitting for her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s brother, both of whom have said they were out of town when Tibbetts went missing.
Willey’s group has been administering a reward fund that raised nearly $400,000 for any tip leading to Tibbetts’ safe return.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/...tory.html#
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