Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #48

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justtrish said:
I believe he came at 17 with his parents so I don't know that he had control over coming here. Not to say he didn't do anything previously that caused the parents to move him here, but he was a minor when he arrived here.
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Seems his parents stayed behind. I think CBR had extended family already living/working in Iowa.

Mr. Bahena Rivera grew up in El Guayabillo, a village of unpaved roads some three hours’ drive from Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, and attended the only elementary school in the village of about 400 people.

“A very good person, a simple guy with no vices,” Victor Manuel Nuñez Carbajal, who attended school with Mr. Bahena Rivera, said in a Facebook message. Neighbors told Univision network that his father tended his small corn plot and also milked dairy cows in the village, earning less than $10 a day.

Mr. Bahena Rivera came to the United States at age 17, his lawyer said, with the equivalent of a middle school education. After a few years at another farm, he went to work at Yarrabee Farms outside Brooklyn, which is co-owned by Craig Lang, a former Republican candidate for Iowa agriculture secretary.

Aug 2018
How the Suspect in Mollie Tibbetts’s Death Built a Life in an Iowa Farm Town (Published 2018)
 
justtrish said:
Thank you for clarifying. I must have assumed he was with his parents since he was a minor. I still don't get it. He must have had a good work ethic to work such long days on end. He had a car his cousin testified he paid money to her on time. I guess we never really do know or understand the why often because we just wouldn't do or think the things he must have done and thought to get to this place of doing this.
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He was very young to be living on his own in a foreign country where he didn't speak the language, but his uncle looked out for him.

Perhaps he viewed the world from the perspective of illegal immigrant workers and people who had rights in the USA, privilege and without privilege, hard work that didn't make a difference fast enough.
 
justtrish said:
Just because she is subpoenaed doesn't mean they have to call her does it? Maybe that was a tactic to use to rattle Dalton? He would have known she was subpoenaed and I'm sure that increased his disgust for the defense who would be questioning him. I could have served it's purpose just to have her listed as a witness on their list. Do they question her before she gets on the stand? If someone isn't a willing witness and they have to be called to testify by subpoena then how does the defense know what she will testify to before hand? That is risky isn't it?
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They don't have to call her, they just have to list any witnesses they might call. You can change your plan depending on how the case is going. Personally I think this is a stupid tactic. Blaming another farm worker who had access to the car seems like a way easier way to get reasonable doubt than a boyfriend who was verifiably not in town that day.
 
MntnHiker said:
Is there a list anywhere of who all the defense is going to call to testify? I Googled and didn't find anything. Apologies if it's in the thread and I missed it.
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I've only heard of potential witnesses via Court TV but I'll keep looking for a formal list.

Below is a list of witnesses called by the state so far. Defense attorneys will give their opening statement after the prosecution rests its case.

Wednesday, May 19
  • First witness: Blake Jack, the brother of Mollie Tibbetts’ boyfriend. He discussed when he found out Mollie was missing and how he tried to get ahold of her.
  • Second witness: Dalton Jack, Mollie’s boyfriend. He testified about dating history, relationship with Mollie, where he was when she disappeared, and states that he believes Cristhian Bahena Rivera is guilty.
  • Third witness: Deputy Matt Simpson with the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office. He described what he found at the home where Mollie was known to stay.
  • Fourth witness: Jillena Scheck, a coworker and family friend of Mollie’s. She recalled trying to get ahold of her when she didn’t show up for work.
  • Fifth witness: Christina Steward, owns a beauty salon in town. She saw Mollie running the night she disappeared and went looking for her the next day.
  • Sixth witness: Arely Nunez-Lorenzana, cousin of Cristhian Bahena Rivera. She talked about an agreement to buy him a car, a black Chevy Malibu, and their family gatherings.
Thursday, May 20
  • First witness: Deputy Steve Kivi, with the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office, who testified about a black Chevy Malibu caught on surveillance video, likely in the area when Mollie was running through.
  • Second witness: Logan Collins, a Brooklyn, Iowa resident whose surveillance cameras caught the Malibu driving by.
  • Third witness: Iowa DCI Agent Derek Riessen, testified about surveillance video that shows a runner and a Malibu that appears on camera multiple times.
  • Fourth witness: Special Agent Michael Fischels, with the Department of Homeland Security, canvassed the farm where Cristhian Bahena Rivera worked and spoke with him in Spanish, discussing his car and whether he knew anything about Mollie Tibbetts.
  • Fifth witness: Special Agent Scott Green, with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations, canvassed Bahena Rivera’s workplace, collected DNA samples
  • Sixth witness: Pamela Romero, former police officer, testified about Bahena Rivera leading her to the body of Mollie Tibbetts and the details he gave surrounding an interaction he had with her how the body was left in a cornfield.
Friday, May 21
  • Pamela Romero, a former Iowa City police officer, testified about Bahena Rivera leading her to the body of Mollie Tibbetts and the details he gave surrounding an interaction he had with her how the body was left in a cornfield.
  • Amy Johnson, a criminalist with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, testified it took about three hours to examine the black Chevy Malibu, with four areas on the vehicle getting tested for blood. The day after looking at the car, Johnson returned to Poweshiek County to see what is later confirmed to be Tibbetts' body.
  • Tara Scott, Criminalist
Monday, May 24 Fast Facts
  • First Witness: DCI Agent Trent Vileta, he first got involved in the case when Mollie was reported missing. He described her as low-risk in terms of becoming a victim due to her lifestyle.
  • Second Witness: Kevin Horan, FBI supervisory agent. He works with the Cellular Analysis Survey Team to determine cell phone data and records. He determined the location of her phone based on how it communicated with cell towers.
  • Third Witness: Dr. Dennis Klein, State Medical Examiner. Dr. Klein and his team retrieved the body from the cornfield ad did the autopsy. He testified there were nine definitive wounds on her body, and up to 12 possible.
  • Fourth Witness: Dr. Heather Garvin, a forensic anthropologist, examined Mollie’s skeleton after the autopsy was complete. She identified a minimum of 7 impacts based on her analysis of wounds on the bones.
  • The State rested its case.
  • Judge Joel Yates denies a motion of acquittal by defense.
Who has testified in the Cristhian Bahena Rivera trial? | weareiowa.com
 
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I am curious why they didn't mention CBR's cell activity. He had a phone, so I wonder if he had it on him that night? I can't imagine why they wouldn't introduce that evidence if he did have it. It would ping where she was and where her phone was. Maybe he didn't have the phone?

I also would have liked to see how long the Fitbit was stopped or not moving in the same way it was previously while she was running and during the time they had it going 60mp.. how long was it not moving at all before the 60mph? Maybe they said and I missed it?

Last thing would be checking out his cell data in the weeks before this. Did he drive around looking for her other nights? Did he just decide that day she was the target? Did the camera pick him up in the days before that? Had he been to that cornfield before? It seems like the perfect spot and I don't think someone plans this out and then doesn't have an idea in mind already where to take her. Did he visit that spot before or since the day of her murder? He had 5 weeks between the killing and his arrest. Was his cell ever pinging in that area after that? His cell data was not even mentioned that I heard. I wonder why that is.
 
Seattle1 said:
Seems his parents stayed behind. I think CBR had extended family already living/working in Iowa.

Mr. Bahena Rivera grew up in El Guayabillo, a village of unpaved roads some three hours’ drive from Acapulco on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, and attended the only elementary school in the village of about 400 people.

“A very good person, a simple guy with no vices,” Victor Manuel Nuñez Carbajal, who attended school with Mr. Bahena Rivera, said in a Facebook message. Neighbors told Univision network that his father tended his small corn plot and also milked dairy cows in the village, earning less than $10 a day.

Mr. Bahena Rivera came to the United States at age 17, his lawyer said, with the equivalent of a middle school education. After a few years at another farm, he went to work at Yarrabee Farms outside Brooklyn, which is co-owned by Craig Lang, a former Republican candidate for Iowa agriculture secretary.

Aug 2018
How the Suspect in Mollie Tibbetts’s Death Built a Life in an Iowa Farm Town (Published 2018)
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If his father was making $10 a day, how can his family afford to pay his defense attorneys? This article says his lawyers are paid by family and acquaintances, not public funds.

VERIFY: Cristhian Bahena Rivera's attorneys aren't paid for with taxpayer money | weareiowa.com
 
justtrish said:
I am curious why they didn't mention CBR's cell activity. He had a phone, so I wonder if he had it on him that night? I can't imagine why they wouldn't introduce that evidence if he did have it. It would ping where she was and where her phone was. Maybe he didn't have the phone?

I also would have liked to see how long the Fitbit was stopped or not moving in the same way it was previously while she was running and during the time they had it going 60mp.. how long was it not moving at all before the 60mph? Maybe they said and I missed it?

Last thing would be checking out his cell data in the weeks before this. Did he drive around looking for her other nights? Did he just decide that day she was the target? Did the camera pick him up in the days before that? Had he been to that cornfield before? It seems like the perfect spot and I don't think someone plans this out and then doesn't have an idea in mind already where to take her. Did he visit that spot before or since the day of her murder? He had 5 weeks between the killing and his arrest. Was his cell ever pinging in that area after that? His cell data was not even mentioned that I heard. I wonder why that is.
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I bet that it was also excluded. Geez, it is a good thing not everything was taken out!
 
otto said:
I do wonder what the suspect experienced during his childhood to make him such a vicious, remorseless killer at the age of 24.
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I also wonder what other 'bad acts' we'll learn about if/when he's sentenced (which I have no doubt he will be).

Does anyone know if there's an aggravation phase if/after the jury convicts, or does it go right to the PSI and sentencing hearing at a later date?
 
The defense keeps claiming the bf has 'anger issues.' So this ex gf probably had some arguments w/him in which he got very angry. maybe punched a wall or acted out loudly in front of others....typical teen type stuff, imo.

But the jurors are smart enough to know it means nothing in terms of this murder. An argument he had with an ex, or cheating with an ex, cannot overcome the pile of evidence against the defendant.
otto said:
Let's suppose Mollie said something that caused this farm worker to black out and put her in the trunk of his car. Then, his rage subsided, he came out of the black-out, her earbuds were on his lap, and he realized that she was in the trunk of his car. That's the moment that he can do the right thing.

That doesn't explain why he drove her to a corn field, dragged her out of the car, stripped her, stabbed her in the head, back, chest and neck, presumably raped her, and left her covered with corn stalks.

The 'black out' might explain putting her in the car, it doesn't explain what he did next.
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I think the 'blackout' admission will work against him. People don't normally just blackout. It does happen with extreme rage for some people however.

And it takes extreme rage to put a knife all the way through the skull. The defense was hitting on that fact, implying that her bf had anger issues and knives, thus he is a valid suspect.

But in doing so, they are also pointing to their client, because he had a blackout and admitted he had them sometimes. Which means he was in some kind of altered state at that time---either high or super emotionally amped up, to just black out but still drive a car, move a body, etc etc.
 
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