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

[PommyMommy]

Man accused in Mollie Tibbetts' slaying wants trial moved to a county with ‘substantial’ Latino representation

From the article:

[...]

Attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera on Friday filed a motion for change of venue, arguing that existing prejudice in Poweshiek County makes it likely "a fair and impartial trial cannot be preserved with a jury selected from that county," according to court documents.

[...]

Months later, emotions and opinions surrounding Tibbett's death "do not appear to have cooled," Rivera's attorneys wrote.

The motion used as an example a story published Jan. 15 by Des Moines television station KCCI about Rivera seeking a trial delay.

The story, shared on the station's Facebook page, received hundreds of reactions and comments, many of them negative comments about Rivera's Mexican nationality. Others wrote that Rivera should be killed. The motion didn't indicate what county the commenters were from.

 

[PommyMommy]

Lawyers of man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts want trial moved out of county
Rivera's legal team cited how Tibbetts' hometown of Brooklyn knows about the case and pointed to a "Remembering Mollie Tibbetts" Facebook page and numerous news stories filed during the month-plus spent looking for her.

The legal team also cited potential witnesses, many of whom have Latino heritage who would "relay a genuine fear and apprehension for offering testimony or cooperating with any investigation."

Rivera's legal team is asking for the venue where the "minority population is substantially represented."

Lawyers of Man Accused of Killing Mollie Tibbetts Want Trial Moved to Another County
The attorneys for Cristhian Rivera say there is existing prejudice in Poweshiek County.

[...]

Rivera’s lawyers say the national attention garnered during the weeks-long search for Tibbetts means he will be unable to find an impartial jury in the county. They also say that because the issue of Rivera’s immigration status has gained polarizing national attention, he should be tried in a county with a larger minority population.

Tibbetts murder suspect wants trial moved to county with minority representation
According to court documents, Rivera's attorneys requested that the trial be moved to a county that has a "representative minority population" due to the polarizing nature of the defendant's undocumented immigration status.

 

[ManicMuggle83]

They could move this to El Paso Texas and still not gain any racial sympathy. Murder is murder. My husband is 1st generation Mexican American. His mother just became a citizen in 2017. There isn't a lot of sympathy for illegal immigrants from those who have done everything legally and that's including simple things like disorderly conduct or something else like petty theft. This was murder!

But, if moving it prevents a legitimate cause for a retrial/appeal then have at it.

 

[IowaMom4]

Man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts says he was not read his rights before police interview

Uh Oh. Bahena-Rivera says he was not read his rights...

From the article: "The undocumented immigrant accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts says he was not advised of his rights before an interview with law enforcement, arguing his constitutional right against self-incrimination was violated.

Lawyers for Cristhian Bahena Rivera say before the 12-hour interview, he was not told about his right to an attorney or his right to decline to cooperate. His attorneys argue in a new 29-page motion that any confession he made was therefore involuntary. "

 

[Mica]

Man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts says he was not read his rights before police interview

Uh Oh. Bahena-Rivera says he was not read his rights...

From the article: "The undocumented immigrant accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts says he was not advised of his rights before an interview with law enforcement, arguing his constitutional right against self-incrimination was violated.

Lawyers for Cristhian Bahena Rivera say before the 12-hour interview, he was not told about his right to an attorney or his right to decline to cooperate. His attorneys argue in a new 29-page motion that any confession he made was therefore involuntary. "

I don’t believe him.

 

[Seattle1]

Mollie Tibbetts’ accused killer wants trial moved to different county due to 'minority population'

3/4/19 Fox News

An illegal immigrant charged in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student found dead in August, requested his trial to be moved to a more diverse county in the state so his jury pool has more minority representation.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s attorneys filed the motion Friday, arguing that existing tensions and opinions in Poweshiek County — which is the area where the crime occurred, Tibbetts grew up and Rivera lived and worked at a dairy farm — will make it hard to have a “fair and impartial trial,” the Des Moines Register reported. The attorneys asked the court to select a county that has more of a minority representation for the jury pool.

"Without venue where a minority population is substantially represented, [Rivera] cannot be fairly tried and any jury pool chosen will have to be stricken," the motion reads.

The trial is set to begin on Sept. 3, Des Moines Register reported.

 

[Seattle1]

Motion filed to drop confession from suspect in Mollie Tibbetts' murder

NEWS/8

POWESHIEK COUNTY, Iowa —

Attorneys representing the man accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts are asking to have his confession dropped from the case.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera has been charged with first-degree murder in the 20-year-old's death.

A 29-page motion filed Friday by Rivera's attorneys said his Fifth Amendment constitutional rights were violated.

The motion claims Rivera was not read his rights before questioning, including his right to have an attorney present and his right to decline to cooperate with officers.

"If it's true that he was in custody and being interrogated and was not given the Miranda warning (or) made statements without waiving his rights, then it's a valid motion," said Drake University law professor David McCord.

Though the motion would be valid, McCord said the city of Brooklyn could still try the case with other evidence.

"The motion doesn't say that anything found in the vehicle should be suppressed," he said.

The Iowa Attorney General's Office said it plans to resist the motion.

Rivera's attorneys also filed a second motion to move the trial out of Poweshiek County, allowing more minority representation and a neutral jury.

"It's going to be hard to find some portion of the state where the case is not well known," McCord said. "If the judge determines that, really, a fair jury pool can't be drawn from the county, then the judge can move it to another county."

Rivera pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mollie Tibbetts. If found guilty, he will spend life in prison.

His trial is scheduled to begin Sept. 3 at the Poweshiek County Courthouse.

 

[Seattle1]

Mollie Tibbetts Murder Suspect Says Police Violated His Rights

The man accused of murdering University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts claims he was not informed of his rights before police interviewed him, The Des Moines Register reports. Attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, an undocumented immigrant, say that before his 12-hour interview with police, Rivera was not told he had a right to an attorney or a right to not cooperate. One of the lawyers, Chad Frese, told the newspaper Rivera was read his rights about 10 hours into the interview. “It's troublesome,” Frese said. “It's involuntary.” Iowa Attorney General's Office spokeswoman Lynn Hicks told the newspaper that the office planned to resist the lawyers' newest motion but declined to comment further.

 

[Seattle1]

 

[Seattle1]

Really? Seems that CR and his defense forget that he led authorities to MT remains after she was missing for more than a month.

With or without his confession, CR is going away -- might take an extra day but it will be done and gone for the rest of his life. MOO

 

[wary]

Really? Seems that CR and his defense forget that he led authorities to MT remains after she was missing for more than a month.

With or without his confession, CR is going away -- might take an extra day but it will be done and gone for the rest of his life. MOO

What evidence gets thrown out, if they throw out his confession? They won’t be able to tell the jury that he led them to her body, right?

 

[Seattle1]

What evidence gets thrown out, if they throw out his confession? They won’t be able to tell the jury that he led them to her body, right?

I've not read the 29 page motion so I'm not certain what the defense is hoping to suppress.

I think the "invalid confession" would be early statements CR made to LE.

It appears he was under miranda midway into his interrogation so I believe taking them to the cornfield would remain as solid evidence. MOO

 

[Ragnarok]

I find it unfathomable that in this day and age, with state and federal agencies involved, that today's normal standard procedures were not followed? Was the interrogation not recorded either audio nor video?

 

[The Farm]

I don’t believe him.

Me neither.

 

[The Farm]

This will backfire, IMO. My experience is that legal immigrants do not like illegal aliens.

But if they are family they do and will get others to band together. I remember seeing that CR did have relatives somewhere else in IA.

 

[MyBelle]

This will backfire, IMO. My experience is that legal immigrants do not like illegal aliens.

I think the judge will agree to a change of venue but it won't be to a small county with a large Latino population due to packing house employment. I think it will be moved to Polk County/Des Moines which is just a half-hour or so down I-80.

Doesn't matter where it is moved; CR is still going to be convicted.

JMO

 

[MyBelle]

But if they are family they do and will get others to band together. I remember seeing that CR did have relatives somewhere else in IA.

iirc, CR's uncle lived in Brooklyn.

 

[girlhasnoname]

Anybody get access to the defense motion to suppress yet?
I know these are standard defense moves, ie. change of venue, motion to suppress, language barrier, etc. but they still make my blood boil.

I don't believe that he wasn't read his rights or that LE/FBI working on this case under such public scrutiny would not have followed procedure to the letter.

Let the defense spinning begin.....he's going down not because of his nationality, or his immigration status. He's going down because he murdered an innocent, bright young woman who had an entire life of good things ahead of her. He wanted her and she rejected him, so he killed her. Simple.

MOO

 

[SharonNeedles]

This trial will be the exact opposite of simple. I don’t think his guilt is in question, but a First Degree Murder conviction isn’t a slam dunk by any means.

 

[girlhasnoname]

This trial will be the exact opposite of simple. I don’t think his guilt is in question, but a First Degree Murder conviction isn’t a slam dunk by any means.

I was speaking of the motive being simple, not the trial. I still think LWOP will prevail in the end.

Hopefully, if you're still planning on attending you can give us the inside scoop.