Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #47

[girlhasnoname]

Yep Defense spin/noise. I'm not worried about this case at all. IMO

ITA, this scum ball will die behind prison bars I have no doubt.

 

[MassGuy]

ITA, this scum ball will die behind prison bars I have no doubt.

I’m not the least bit worried either. Even if the defense is ultimately able to get some evidence excluded, there is still plenty there in which to convict him.

There are some cases where I have a level of concern, but this isn’t one of them.

 

[Bravo]

I’m not the least bit worried either. Even if the defense is ultimately able to get some evidence excluded, there is still plenty there in which to convict him.

There are some cases where I have a level of concern, but this isn’t one of them.

Me either. Defense is just doing what they do. Try to get evidence thrown out and create doubt. Gosh if any one of us had our vehicles forensically searched lord knows what would be found that would not even be connected to us. Smoke and mirrors.

 

[katydid23]

And then this, below. The relationship between Mollie and Jack was reported by the media as if it were a perfect love match made in heaven. Just an example that everything is not always as it appears....

BBM

“In the motion, Rivera’s attorneys write that Jack failed a lie-detector test on July 27, 2018, shortly after Tibbetts went missing. The motion states that Jack lied about an online relationship he had with a woman that Tibbetts found out about because it was “extremely embarrassing,” he wasn’t sure if it mattered, and Jack told authorities “I thought I would put it in your minds that she run away.”...”
Mollie Tibbetts murder suspect seeks delay in trial


July 24, 2018 -
Dalton Jack has been sending text messages to his girlfriend Mollie Tibbetts for six days.

He tells her he misses her.

He loves her.

He wants her to come home.

Tibbetts, 20, has been missing since last Wednesday. She hasn't answered.

"I still call her every day, too, hoping by some weird chance she will pick up," said Jack, 20. "It just goes straight to voicemail. The phone is dead."

On Tuesday, Jack said he is still hoping that she will come home to him in Brooklyn, the small farming community that watched the two sweethearts blossom for the past three years...”.
Mollie Tibbetts' boyfriend talks about the last message he received from the now-missing 20-year-old

What does it matter IF Mollie's boyfriend had an online relationship or not? They were very young. They were doing what most college aged young lovers do, nothing more, nothing less.

Jack's online flirting has ZERO to do with Bahera's brutal murder of Mollie. Smoke and mirrors.

 

[TL4S]

Me either. Defense is just doing what they do. Try to get evidence thrown out and create doubt. Gosh if any one of us had our vehicles forensically searched lord knows what would be found that would not even be connected to us. Smoke and mirrors.

I agree that fingerprints and even blood found in the trunk could be completely unrelated. However, if two different blood samples were intermingled in the trunk, as if they had mixed together while wet, and neither belonged to CR, than that is significant, IMO.
Mollie Tibbetts murder suspect seeks delay in trial:

...blood found in the trunk of Rivera’s black Chevrolet Malibu was a mixture of Tibbetts’ and another person’s blood and fingerprints.

I know it could just be the wording there, but I can't interpret the meaning with any certainty. Were there two different blood types found individually within the trunk, or was blood literally mixing simultaneously?

Also from that article:

The defense also argues in the motion that fingerprints lifted from items in Rivera’s trunk do not belong to Rivera...

Sure, CR didn't have to have handled everything in his trunk, but what if the "items" mentioned are things forensics has positively linked to the murder?

Don't get me wrong, I think CR killed MT. But if there was somebody else involved, or if anyone else has been injured or killed by CR, that needs to be represented. JMO

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, January 28th:
*Pretrial Conference Hearing (@ 9am CT) – IA – Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts (20) (July 18, 2018, Brooklyn; found Aug. 21, 2018) – *Cristhian Bahena Rivera aka John Budd (24) arrested (8/21/18), charged (8/22/18) & arraigned (9/19/18) with 1st degree murder. Plead not guilty. $5M cash only bond.
ICE logged an immigration detainer on Rivera. Confessed to killing Mollie.
Trial was set to begin on 2/4/20 – Trial has been postponed (on 1/22/20). (should last about 6 to 8 days). Trial moved from Poweshiek County to Woodbury County.
Court hearings from 8/22/18 thru 11/13/19 reference post #421 here:
Found Deceased - IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #47
11/14/19 Update: Witnesses: Rivera's Aunt by marriage (her husband is Rivera's uncle). Luis Medina (brother-in-law). Expert Witness Kimberly Fenn, Ph.D. at Michigan State Univ. (researcher re. Psychology and sleep deprivation and cognitive processing). Brian Leslie (Criminal Case Consultants, Former Police Chief in Canada). Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta. Application restrict access to records. Motion to file exhibits under seal or enhanced security level.
12/9/19 Update: Proposed jury instructions in the Rivera murder trial are due to a judge before Jan. 22. The judge is still considering a motion to suppress Rivera's statement to police that he had stabbed Tibbetts to death. Next pretrial conference hearing on 1/28/20.
12/23/19 Update: The state agrees the court should suppress any statements Rivera made between 11:30 p.m. on August 20th and early August 21st; they concede Bahena was improperly Mirandized by an Iowa City officer, leaving out a sentence in the first of two Miranda readings. Judge Joel Yates agreed with prosecutors that some statements made by Rivera must be suppressed because they came during an interrogation after he was not read his full legal rights. But Yates ruled that prosecutors can use information provided by Rivera that led them to the body of Mollie. Judge Yates concluded that Rivera did consent to the search of his car (so prosecutors can use blood evidence discovered in the trunk of one car that allegedly contained Tibbetts' DNA), that his statements were made voluntarily despite his claims of sleep deprivation and lengthy interrogation, and that law enforcement did not use language likely to induce a false confession.
1/19/20 Update: Attorneys for Rivera on Sunday filed a motion to continue trial, asking that the court postpone the Feb. 4 trial to a later date to allow the defense time to depose new witnesses called by the state, including Tibbetts' boyfriend, DJ, who has since joined the military and been deployed to the Middle East. The prosecutors also wrote that unless DJ can return in time for trial, they no longer plan to call him as a witness because of the nature of his deployment. The defense also filed an application for discretionary review of an interlocutory order in which they're asking the Supreme Court to review District Judge Joel Yates's decision to allow most evidence to be taken to trial, despite the defense's arguments that most evidence should be suppressed.
1/22/20 Update: Rivera's trial has been postponed to allow the Supreme Court time to decide whether to take up the defense's claim that their client's constitutional rights were violated. Attorneys for Rivera have asked the Iowa Supreme Court to review District Judge Joel Yates' Dec. 23 decision to allow most evidence to be taken to trial, despite the defense's arguments that most evidence should be suppressed. The latest request for delay also involves a report provided to the defense indicating unidentified blood & fingerprints of two others individuals was found in the trunk of the Malibu. It’s reported elsewhere this report was provided to the defense only on Jan 15th. The defense's application for discretionary review of an interlocutory order filed to the Supreme Court on 1/22/20-granted.

 

[Seattle1]

Here’s the kicker! The cop forgot to turn on his camera while CR allegedly led the cops to her body, and they only turned it on once they were AT the cornfield. So I’m not even sure if there’s solid evidence that he led them to her body.

Already said and done!

The suppression hearing was held and decided by the Judge in December -- all that stuff is over.

Now it's about new blood evidence revealed in January 2020, and the tired argument of CR's civil rights violated because of his poor and/or limited Mexican education.

 

[katydid23]

Already said and done!

The suppression hearing was held and decided by the Judge in December -- all that stuff is over.

Now it's about new blood evidence revealed in January 2020, and the tired argument of CR's civil rights violated because of his poor and/or limited Mexican education.

Thank You.

 

[Seattle1]

With the exception of the blood and fingerprints in CR's car trunk recently admitted in discovery and provided to the defense January 2020 -- take note that there was an evidence suppression hearing held last November-- complete with CR's witnesses and defense expert witnesses to support their motions.

The judge ruled on the defense motions and the same issues being brought up again have already been decided.

Judge: Key evidence can be used in Mollie Tibbetts' slaying

Dec 23, 2019

IOWA CITY, Iowa — In a victory for prosecutors, a judge ruled Monday that they can use key evidence at trial against the migrant worker charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.

Judge Joel Yates agreed with prosecutors that some statements made by the defendant, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, must be suppressed because they came during an interrogation after he was not fully read his legal rights.

But Yates ruled that prosecutors can still use the information provided by Rivera that led them to the body of Tibbetts, who disappeared in July 2018 while out for a run in her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. He also ruled that statements made by Rivera after the discovery of the body were admissible because he was read his rights at that point.

In addition, Yates also ruled that Rivera gave consent to search his vehicles, so prosecutors can use blood evidence discovered in the trunk of one car that allegedly contained Tibbetts' DNA.

[..]

A spokesman for the attorney general's office, which is helping Poweshiek County prosecute Rivera, hailed Monday's ruling as a positive step forward.

[..]

Yates had been weighing what evidence to allow at the trial after overseeing a two-day hearing in November on Rivera's motion to suppress key evidence

[..]

Investigators showed up at the dairy farm where Rivera worked to interview him and other employees in August 2018. He was taken to the sheriff's office, where he was questioned for hours. Eventually, Rivera allegedly directed investigators to the cornfield where they found Tibbetts' body.

Yates ruled that Rivera voluntarily gave consent to search his vehicles and to go the sheriff's office for the interrogation. He denied Rivera's defense's argument that he had been coerced into giving permission for both, and that his confession was the product of a sleep-deprived interrogation.

Investigators later discovered blood in the trunk of one of the vehicles that they say testing later linked to Tibbetts' DNA. Since the search of the vehicle was voluntary, Yates said that evidence can be used.

[..]

However, Yates ruled that prosecutors can use the discovery of Tibbetts' body as evidence since Rivera's statements were voluntarily given.

^^bbm

 

[Seattle1]

And then this, below. The relationship between Mollie and Jack was reported by the media as if it were a perfect love match made in heaven. Just an example that everything is not always as it appears....
BBM
“In the motion, Rivera’s attorneys write that Jack failed a lie-detector test on July 27, 2018, shortly after Tibbetts went missing. The motion states that Jack lied about an online relationship he had with a woman that Tibbetts found out about because it was “extremely embarrassing,” he wasn’t sure if it mattered, and Jack told authorities “I thought I would put it in your minds that she run away.”...”
Mollie Tibbetts murder suspect seeks delay in trial

What does it matter IF Mollie's boyfriend had an online relationship or not? They were very young. They were doing what most college aged young lovers do, nothing more, nothing less.

Jack's online flirting has ZERO to do with Bahera's brutal murder of Mollie. Smoke and mirrors.

CR's defense bringing up this allegation about MT's boyfriend Dalton is the most desperate and maligning motion that I've seen to date. The polygraph deception over one question was not only immediately cleared up but both MT's boyfriend and her brothers were all publically cleared by LE before the end of July 2018.

“The brothers are not suspects,” Kriegel said.

As for the boyfriend, he added, “We have confirmed [his alibi]. He is not a suspect.”

https://nypost.com/2018/07/26/missing-college-students-brothers-boyfriend-cleared-of-suspicion/

 

[katydid23]

CR's defense bringing up this allegation about MT's boyfriend Dalton is the most desperate and maligning motion that I've seen to date. The polygraph deception over one question was not only immediately cleared up but both MT's boyfriend and her brothers were all publically cleared by LE before the end of July 2018.

“The brothers are not suspects,” Kriegel said.

As for the boyfriend, he added, “We have confirmed [his alibi]. He is not a suspect.”

https://nypost.com/2018/07/26/missing-college-students-brothers-boyfriend-cleared-of-suspicion/

Yes, that was a pathetic attempt to make something out of totally nothing. Whose college boyfriend isn't talking to other girl's online?

It has nothing to do with a stalker/predator attacking Mollie while she was out jogging.


And when I read about the other blood in the trunk, it doesn't make me think of a different perpetrator other than Bahera.

It makes me wonder if he has more victims that we don't know about yet. Any other missing women in that area?

 

[Seattle1]

Yes, that was a pathetic attempt to make something out of totally nothing. Whose college boyfriend isn't talking to other girl's online?

It has nothing to do with a stalker/predator attacking Mollie while she was out jogging.


And when I read about the other blood in the trunk, it doesn't make me think of a different perpetrator other than Bahera.

It makes me wonder if he has more victims that we don't know about yet. Any other missing women in that area?

I think I can count on one hand the number of criminal defense attorneys and/or prosecutors that I did not respect at trial and CRs attorneys (Chad Frese and Jennifer Frese) are two of them. Having read Mr. Frese's own comments about the allegations against CR before deciding to join his wife to represent him make all these motions so disingenuous. MOO

 

[katydid23]

I think I can count on one hand the number of criminal defense attorneys and/or prosecutors that I did not respect at trial and CRs attorneys (Chad Frese and Jennifer Frese) are two of them. Having read Mr. Frese's own comments about the allegations against CR before deciding to join his wife to represent him make all these motions so disingenuous. MOO

US lawyer calls client a ‘terrible criminal’ who deserves jail

Unwise counsel: US lawyer Chad Frese deletes Facebook post calling client a ‘terrible criminal’ who deserves jail

• The Iowa defence lawyer said he didn’t think the Facebook post about an ‘idiot’ client crossed any lines

Published: 3 Nov, 2018


A lawyer representing a suspect in a notorious Iowa murder removed a Facebook post Friday in which he called another client an “idiot” and “terrible criminal” who deserved to be jailed.

Marshalltown defence attorney Chad Frese said his post was being misinterpreted by other lawyers, who said the rant was highly inappropriate and likely violated ethics rules governing the profession.


He needed to shut his mouth because he was the dumbest person in the conversation by 100 times. You wonder why we need jails huh?
[Lawyer Chad Frese, describing a client on Facebook]

“
Frese had already come under scrutiny for an earlier Facebook post after Rivera was charged. Frese, who didn’t yet represent Rivera, wrote that the public had unfairly rushed to judgment against a farmer who’d been interviewed by investigators during the search for Tibbetts.

“But wait … an illegal alien snatched her up and committed this heinous act?” he wrote. “He admitted to it? He took the cops to the body?”

 

[katydid23]

I'd like to understand this portion of their Argument to the Supreme Court:

"Upon (law enforcement's) arrival, Bahena was essentially faced with two options: attempt to evade, which will certainly fail; or cooperate and hope for no consequences. Both of which were hopeless endeavors," the defense wrote in their Supreme Court request. "Bahena had no choice but to submit to the authority of the agents.”
Mollie Tibbetts case: Unidentified fingerprints, blood found in Cristhian Bahena Rivera's trunk, records show

So what is their point? The police come to pick him up for an interview, after they found video of HIS vehicle circling the block, where Mollie was last seen jogging. So they came to speak with him about that.

And these attorneys are complaining because the suspect felt he had no choice but to run away or agree to an interview?

It sounds to me like the investigators were just doing their job. A college student was MISSING. They were looking for her. Are these attorneys faulting them for wanting to interview the driver of the vehicle seen following her right before she went missing?

 

[katydid23]

"The Freses also argued in their request to the Supreme Court that Bahena Rivera's position as an immigrant with "a very limited Mexican education" made him unfamiliar with the U.S. criminal justice system and prevented him from understanding the Miranda rights he was read. "
Mollie Tibbetts case: Unidentified fingerprints, blood found in Cristhian Bahena Rivera's trunk, records show

I will have to sit on my hands now, or else .... Are they serious?

So what does that mean? He had a limited Mexican education so he doesn't have to answer questions about the victim's blood being in his car---the blood of a missing young college student?


"Had he understood his right to counsel, Bahena Rivera would have consulted with representatives from the Mexican consulate before giving any statements to law enforcement, they argued."

So their argument is he shouldn't have to answer questions about the urgent search for the missing girl?--and because he is here illegally he should be allowed to go consult with his embassy instead?

Should sneaking into our country and using stolen identity give a murder suspect special privileges to avoid interrogation about a missing student? I hope that isn't what our courts decide.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

Me either. Defense is just doing what they do. Try to get evidence thrown out and create doubt. Gosh if any one of us had our vehicles forensically searched lord knows what would be found that would not even be connected to us. Smoke and mirrors.

Yes, and the vehicle didn't belong to him, it was shared by people working on the same farm as him. So many people used it all the time. IIRC there were over a dozen workers living on the farm and sharing the car.

So, over the weeks and months between when he chased after and murdered Mollie and put her in the trunk and her blood was left there, and when LE took him in, it's entirely possible many people who worked on the farm touched things in the trunk that had her blood on them, and left these "other" fingerprints and DNA.

Or one or more of his coworkers knew what he did and maybe helped him get rid of evidence in the trunk or cover it up (in which case, LE's investigation should confirm if he had accomplices and they should be charged).

It's kind of a duh moment, and the defense is just grasping at any straws they can, IMO.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

I'd like to understand this portion of their Argument to the Supreme Court:

"Upon (law enforcement's) arrival, Bahena was essentially faced with two options: attempt to evade, which will certainly fail; or cooperate and hope for no consequences. Both of which were hopeless endeavors," the defense wrote in their Supreme Court request. "Bahena had no choice but to submit to the authority of the agents.”
Mollie Tibbetts case: Unidentified fingerprints, blood found in Cristhian Bahena Rivera's trunk, records show

So what is their point? The police come to pick him up for an interview, after they found video of HIS vehicle circling the block, where Mollie was last seen jogging. So they came to speak with him about that.

And these attorneys are complaining because the suspect felt he had no choice but to run away or agree to an interview?

It sounds to me like the investigators were just doing their job. A college student was MISSING. They were looking for her. Are these attorneys faulting them for wanting to interview the driver of the vehicle seen following her right before she went missing?

These defense attorneys are getting more and more ridiculous in their filings and arguments. So it’s LE’s fault they show up and stress out CR? Aren’t the options of evade or cooperate faced by all criminals when the police show up? Are they arguing the police should have said “we’re here to talk to you about this girl’s disappearance. But if you want to run, we’ll close our eyes and count to 100...just to be fair.” Silly.

 

[Bravo]

Yeah cuz he is "special" ^

 

[TL4S]

I want justice for Mollie. I also want a clean trial so that justice is what she gets.

https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/lawyers-for-suspect-in-mollie-tibbetts-murder-case-ask-judge-to-delay-trial

BBM

Defense lawyers also argue that a lab report identified as "Lab Report #6" was given to them almost a year after the state first got possession of it.

The motion alleges that fingerprints found in the trunk of the black Chevrolet Malibu belonging to Bahena Rivera could not have come from him. They say the fingerprints have not been matched to anyone yet but say this evidence should be followed up on with their own investigators.

The state said in response that they discovered Lab Report #6 had inadvertently been left out of the report and filed it once they realized it had not been disclosed.


A sentence was admittedly omitted from the Miranda warning, and now a lab report was inadvertently left out of the report until three weeks before trial. I don't have to like the defense counsel or their requests for delays, but IMO, they're doing their job. Those two things should never have happened, but they did, and must be dealt with correctly.

IMO, the owner(s) to those unmatched fingerprints (and blood) needs to be identified.

 

[PommyMommy]

JAN 28, 2020
Murder trial against man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts officially delayed
The murder trial against Cristhian Bahena Rivera, accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, has officially been delayed.

According to Iowa Judicial Breach communications director Steve Davis, his trial date set for Tuesday, February 4 will not happen. Davis said it will not take place in February. This comes after Poweshiek County Judge Joel Yates ordered a stay in the case.

The stay was ordered after Bahena Rivera's judge filed a request to have the court's decision on a suppression motion reviewed by the Iowa Supreme Court.

[...]