Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #38

[Cardinal47]

Mollie Tibbetts' brother Scott scores three touchdowns in game he nearly didn't play

Emotional win for Mollie's brother and the team.

I'm glad he played with his team. He needs that!

 

[prblythe]

You can tell he thinks highly of himself. He’s a guy who think’s he’s something. In one of his stupid selfies, he looks much older than 24.

I see someone with a low self esteem who has escaped his own reality to convince himself he is everything he sees himself to want to be. If anyone challenges him or causes him to deflate there will be hell to pay.

 

[Copper]

Since we're mentioning clothing (albeit for a moment), maybe someone else already mentioned this yesterday, when I wasn't able to catch up in reading the threads: Everyone here probably already knows that the TA (TravelAmerica, I believe) truckstop in Brooklyn (near the interstate) has *5* showers, available to truckers primarily, but no doubt available for anyone -- especially for someone perhaps needing to, uh, take a super-evidence-removing shower the evening of July 18th. JMOO

Was thinking that I saw some earlier discussion about how someone could clean up without their family/friends knowing. Could this be a possibility, I wonder? Just tossing this out there...

Not sure, but I think truckers, or anyone else, have to pay to use a truck stop's facilities. Showers, sleeping quarters, whatever.

 

[MyBelle]

It wouldn't mine have either.
Do Iowa people have a tendency to look down on hispanic farm workers? Could he have been angry at the this?
It's not what I really think except for maybe a component. I really think this was more than likely a sex crime with murder......but did he want to do it to someone (not necessarily her) he experienced as the elite? And she became the easy target as she was out jogging?

I don't believe that community "looked down" on any farm worker based on race. There has to be farmers' children in the schools with parents employed by the larger ag businesses. I would be shocked if racism is a factor in any way.

 

[CuriousCricket]

It looked like they cut and cleared the corn from around the area where the body was found, and took it away. I was wondering if that might have been for further forensic study. I wonder if the corn root systems could have taken up DNA markers from decomp liquification? Kinda out there, but.. However, I do think that you point about maggot DNA uptake evidence is interesting

How about some of the leaves collecting DNA from CR as he pushed through the corn stalks?

 

[TL4S]

Thank you!. I've definitely been wondering how he cleaned up post murder. The truck stop is open 24/7?

That would certainly explain it. He would have had extra clothing in the car - everything else was planned, such as knowing Mollie's route and circling before she got there. I'm not convinced that this cleaning up happened before 10PM, but it is believable that he stopped at the Truck Stop or Caseys before he abducted Mollie.

I considered TA as a shower spot, too, but have convinced myself it's too far and too public. He would have had to have a change of clothes - he can't walk in bloody and out wet. But then why not rinse off in a nearby pond or river or dairy farm hose and bury, burn, or otherwise dispose of the stained clothes? Unless they really were tres chic and he used the TA laundry facilities. But as otto said, I think all that would be after 10pm. MT's phone would have had to have been in the car leaving a digital ping (and then somehow later at the pig farm), because LE had no CR on their radar at the time they released that map.

 

[Jeng1810]

Not sure, but I think truckers, or anyone else, have to pay to use a truck stop's facilities. Showers, sleeping quarters, whatever.

The showers at TA are $14-15 depending on their location according to their website. Not a bad price to lose some evidence.

 

[otto]

Was he living with anybody at the time?

... of the murder? Don't know. Regarding the girlfriend and daughter, there are very mixed reports stating that they lived together and she moved out when he was arrested, to they separated two years ago.

 

[CuriousCricket]

Maybe it is too much to hope for, but with video and digital cams everywhere, and the emergence of excellent DNA techniques and other high tech sleuthing tech, maybe those with tendencies to commit crimes will think twice. Maybe.

The hard core criminals no, but some may be deterred.

It appears that the Golden State Killer quit when DNA started being used by LE. Since he as LE, he realized very early what it meant and appears to have "retired"

 

[Mom24]

Family: Don't exploit Mollie Tibbetts' death for racist view

Not for nothing, but whether you're pointing fingers at ethnicity or gender, neither is right. Evil knows no gender either.

 

[otto]

I don't believe that community "looked down" on any farm worker based on race. There has to be farmers' children in the schools with parents employed by the larger ag businesses. I would be shocked if racism is a factor in any way.

I think this is more about how he feels himself as a hardworking illegal immigrant than how the community feels about him.

 

[MyBelle]

Thank you!. I've definitely been wondering how he cleaned up post murder. The truck stop is open 24/7?

That would certainly explain it. He would have had extra clothing in the car - everything else was planned, such as knowing Mollie's route and circling before she got there. I'm not convinced that this cleaning up happened before 10PM, but it is believable that he stopped at the Truck Stop or Caseys before he abducted Mollie.

All truck stops along I-80 that I'm aware of are open 24/7. Long haul truckers are required to stop and rest after so many hours. It takes about 5.5 hours to get across Iowa and between Des Moines and Iowa City there aren't a lot of places to do it beyond the few truck stops and maybe one or two rest areas.

 

[Gardenista]

Could this be right? His GF was 14 or 15 when she got pregnant? Wouldn't that be considered rape?

How the Man Accused of Killing Mollie Tibbetts Built a Life in an Iowa Farm Town

 

[KaaBoom]

He wasn't even on their radar so I really don't see how they would have even known. Nothing was registered to him, lived in a small trailer on a farm with several other migrant workers and was using a fake name.

Im sure plenty of people have come and gone in the 5 weeks she was missing.

Your first part is the answer. He wasn't even on their radar. He had no reason to leave. If he thought they had anything on him, then he would have left. Even then he probably wouldn't have gone to Mexico. He would have just gotten a new ID and started working on another farm somewhere.

 

[Mom24]

You can tell he thinks highly of himself. He’s a guy who think’s he’s something. In one of his stupid selfies, he looks much older than 24.

So I'm not the only one who thinks he's older than 24. He really doesn't look that young.

 

[Ilovemy3boys]

Not for nothing, but whether you're pointing fingers at ethnicity or gender, neither is right. Evil knows no gender either.

I’m not pointing fingers anywhere if you mean me. I just post articles

 

[Alethea]

I don't believe that community "looked down" on any farm worker based on race. There has to be farmers' children in the schools with parents employed by the larger ag businesses. I would be shocked if racism is a factor in any way.

There's a big difference between the children of farm owners and migrant workers living in ramshackle boarding houses working for below minimum wage. I'm sure no one will admit to looking down on anyone, but I'm sure upper-middle-class college students are not maintaining serious friendships with migrant workers. I'm sure there's a lot of class animosity like there always is in situations like that. People will shout from the rooftops how open minded they are but neighborhoods never reflect it (white flight, etc). There are exceptions sure, but segregation is real and there are a lot of socioeconomic barriers and biases even putting race and ethnicity aside.

I think this will play out to be an angry underclass worker who was angry with his circumstances and took it out on a beautiful, upper-class white woman he felt rejected him. Is it valid? Absolutely not, but it happens.

 

[Snoopster]

‘I only went for the sake of our daughter.’ Shaken former girlfriend of alleged killer of Mollie Tibbetts tells why she turned up at court to watch the alleged illegal immigrant face first degree murder charges

The link doesn't work. I went to see if the article included the phrase "alleged illegal immigrant' or if you did. I would think an objective article would say she turned up at court to watch the alleged murderer of her friend.

 

[prblythe]

How about some of the leaves collecting DNA from CR as he pushed through the corn stalks?

I think a confession and leading her to the body is pretty damning. DNA is important and it solidifies a case and I believe they will have plenty of evidence with video confessions and mitochondrial DNA on site and in car. As for the weapons used and I think LE is building a very strong airtight case.

 

[Jaclin]

If the average temperature was 25C or 77F, there is advanced stage of decomposition. I guess we should check the mean temperature from July 18 - August 21.

"In the relentless dry heat of the Texas summer, a body left to the elements will mummify rather than decompose fully. The skin will quickly lose all of its moisture, so that it remains clinging to the bones when the process is complete.

The speed of the chemical reactions involved doubles with every 10°C rise in temperature, so a cadaver will reach the advanced stage after 16 days at an average daily temperature of 25°C, and after 80 days at an average daily temperature of 5°C."​

Life after death: the science of human decomposition

I just looked at accuweather and got the mean highs and lows for Brooklyn for those days. The mean high is 81.66F. The mean low is 61.8F. I'm not sure how you get the mean temperature considering it would be lower than the high for most of the day.
If you then average the high and low you get 71.73F.
Another thing to consider is that stab wounds would speed decomp.