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Tyler Davis on Twitter
Here in Montezuma for a hearing regarding Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts. The defendant has just entered the courtroom.
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10:07 AM - 23 Aug 2019

Shannon Moudy on Twitter
Poweshiek County Judge Joel Yates confirms Cristhian Bahena Rivera waived his right to a speedy trial voluntarily. Murder trial will begin on or around Nov. 12, over a year after arraignment. Bahena Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.
10:20 AM - 23 Aug 2019 from Iowa, USA

Austin Schick on Twitter
A year after Mollie Tibbetts was found in a corn field, the man accused of killing her was in a Montezuma courtroom. Christhian Bahena Rivera waived his right to have his trial held within a year of his arraignment. The trial is set for November 12... https://www.facebook.com/AustinSchickKTVO/posts/2321514247966772 …
11:11 AM - 23 Aug 2019

WHO-HD Ch. 13 News on Twitter
Judge Officially Approves Speedy Trial Waiver for Man Accused of Killing Mollie Tibbetts http://via.whotv.com/MBkHg
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11:14 AM - 23 Aug 2019
 
AUG 23, 2019
Trial remains on track for man accused of fatally stabbing Mollie Tibbetts
  • The trial remains on track to begin Nov. 12 in Woodbury Co District Court.
  • CR appeared Friday in Poweshiek County District Court to formally waive his rights to trial within a year.
  • He filed the waiver June 26 but 8th Judicial District Judge Joel Yates wanted him to make the waiver in-person to ensure he understood his rights.
  • There was an interpreter in court to aid him, as well as his attorneys.
  • The hearing on the motion to suppress evidence was reset for Oct 22 and 23.
 
SEP 2, 2019
Mollie Tibbetts’ family shares the UI student’s legacy one year after her death
Hanging on the wall in Laura Calderwood’s bedroom is a self-portrait her daughter, Mollie Tibbetts, drew when she was 5.

[…]

Mollie offered to sell it to her mom for $5, which Calderwood just happened to have in her purse.

[…]

Mollie was a smartass, her mom said, and a pack rat with a curious streak. Kim Calderwood, her sister and Mollie’s aunt, said she thought Mollie had no flaws; she was focused, hard-working, and amazing with kids.

[…]

VIDEO: Laura Calderwood reflects on Mollie’s life and her grieving process


[…]

Morgan recalled one night when she, Mollie, and some friends were hanging out at Mollie’s house. They were stuck inside because of the rain, Morgan said, and they were playing truth or dare. A friend dared Mollie to go roll around in a mud puddle, and while she didn’t fulfill the dare completely, she did dance in the rain, to everyone’s amusement.

“That’s one that I think about sometimes if I’m feeling sad … it helps to think about some of the funny things we experienced together,” Morgan said.

[…]

6-1.jpg


[…]

Kim saw Mollie’s coming-of-age firsthand, as she works on campus. She and Mollie would meet at a bench in the Old Capitol Mall sometimes, and Kim would drive her back to Brooklyn. She said they became closer as Mollie settled into campus, and always looked forward to their talks in the car.

While Mollie was missing, Kim said in a tearful voice that she would park her car in the same spot every day and keep the doors unlocked, just in case Mollie showed up and needed a place to sit or hide. She would also go to the bench and look around. She said it took her a long time to be able to return to that bench.

[…]

Kim’s son stopped one day to speak to a homeless person. After handing out a Kindness Card, a card with a quote from a speech Mollie gave, the person said they knew Mollie. Mollie would stop and speak with them when she had time.

[…]

In a conference room on the sixth floor of the Children’s Hospital hangs a five-panel painting, capturing the “everyday joy” Mollie found in life.

The large canvases are filled with flowers, leaves, hearts, and abstract shapes in neon colors. The swirls, stripes, and dots covering the paintings exude a lightness that fills the room.

Children who knew Mollie from the daycare at which she worked, as well as kids from another daycare and Children’s Hospital patients, helped paint the piece. Laura said it looks just like something Mollie would have painted, with abstract shapes and bright colors.

[…]

For the children who had a relationship with Mollie, making this art was an important step in the healing process, Laura said. Mollie and the events surrounding her death will likely stick with them for the rest of their lives, and being able to work through their feelings with art will help them remember her life, not just her death.

[…]

Mollie is being remembered through more than just art. Livenow Photography has T-shirts and postcards for Mollie’s Movement, and prints Kindness Cards for people to hand out.

[…]

Movements such as Miles for Mollie are still going strong, and the second Mollie Tibbetts memorial run is set for Sept. 29 in Brooklyn. The high school Mollie attended also has four $500 scholarships in her name.

[…]

[I have] boxes [of mail] from all over the country,” she said. “… They haven’t stopped, and it’s been over a year.”

Letters are stored in boxes, which are scattered around Laura’s living room and office. Cards from Pennsylvania, Georgia, California, and all around the country seemed to overflow from their containers. Each one has been opened and read.

[…]

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[…]

“That was by far the worst day of my life,” Morgan said. “I remember thinking that I would never be the same.”

[…]

Mollie is always on Kim’s mind, and she’s focused on positive memories of her. Sometimes, when she’s missing Mollie, she’ll talk to her.

[…]

Laura said she occasionally has moments where she’ll see something and think, “I should show Mollie,” then she has to remind herself that she can’t.

Little things like that are what she describes as “sneaker waves.”

[…]

Laura has contemplated the future often lately, she said. With the second memorial run approaching and donations still coming to the memorial fund, things don’t seem to be slowing down.

Now with her sons in college, Laura also has to think about being an empty-nester. She is still working to balance her life, and while she will always miss Mollie, she has things that make her happy.

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[…]

Mollie’s legacy is still changing, and Laura said if there’s one thing Mollie could do right now, she would want to let everyone know how much she appreciates all the love people have shared for her and her family.

“[Mollie] lived life to its fullest,” she said. “… She would want to acknowledge the fact that… she appreciates that outpouring of love.”

[…]
 
SEP 4, 2019
Friends speak out against anti-immigration posters using Mollie Tibbett's picture
[…]

Among the ads and events flyers tacked up, underneath Iowa City banners bearing "Bienvenidos - Welcome," was a different type of flyer.

"Had a picture of Mollie and like, just written in sharpie, 'Can we build a wall now?'" Goodman describes.

[…]

The papers were posted around downtown. It's not known who posted them, but Goodman and friends put out the word to rip up the words.

[…]

As of Wednesday, CBS2/Fox28 didn't see any of the flyers posted around the area.

[…]

Goodman says it hurts to see her friend used as "political propaganda" to vilify an entire population because of one person's actions; she says this time hurts more because it was so close to the university she and Mollie love. A university she says is diverse and inclusive.

[…]
 
SEP 29, 2019
Female runners continue to take back the streets of Brooklyn at 2nd Mollie Tibbetts Memorial Run
On a foggy Sunday morning, Iowans came together to continue Mollie Tibbetts' memory through one of her favorite activities — running.

[...]

This year's event did not match the size of the inaugural run, which took place a little over a month after a man was charged with murder in Tibbetts' death. But over 100 people, with and without connections to Tibbetts, came out to support her despite the dicey weather.

Runners from a Cedar Rapids running group, "No Regrets," decided to run both years because they felt a personal connection to Tibbetts' story.

[...]

They've adapted their routines after Tibbetts went missing last year, whether going on group runs or simply letting people know where they are going.

CT said her husband will follow her in his car. She uses a tracker app for times he can't. MM, 30, said she uses special earbuds that let her hear her surroundings.

[...]

As well as taking back the streets, the event continued Tibbetts' memory through charity.

Tibbetts' mother, Laura Calderwood, thanked everyone who participated Sunday, despite the chilly September weather. She was joined by her sons, Mollie Tibbetts' aunt Billie Calderwood, 52, and cousin Kelsie Sheets, 30.

[...]

"There's no way to describe just how overwhelming and humbling and how much love and support we have received," Calderwood said. "Something positive and beautiful came out of something hard and ugly."
 
SEP 30, 2019
Hundreds finish Mollie Tibbetts run in remembrance
Mollie Tibbett's brother, Scott Tibbetts, said he doesn't like to run. But he runs for his sister.

[...]

Scott Tibbetts says the Mollie Tibbetts Memorial Run is a fitting way to honor someone he will never forget.

"She really liked running," Scott Tibbetts said. "So having an event where we can run on her route and do something she enjoyed while also raising money for a cause she liked is a great way to remember her."

[...]

Mollie Tibbetts Memorial Run raises money for University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital
[...]

Runners along the route followed the same 5.5 miles that she would often take. Some walked, while others ran. Regardless, organizers say they want her legacy to live on.

The money raised from the run goes to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.

[...]

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OCT 2, 2019
Illegal Immigrant Accused of Killing Mollie Tibbetts Has Cost Taxpayers $22,000 So Far: Report
[...]

Recent figures obtained by KCCI 8 Des Moines show that more than half of the total bill covered by Iowa taxpayers so far have been to pay for an interpreter for accused killer Bahena Rivera.

[...]

KCCI found that a sum of $1,397 was paid to Interpreters, Inc. on top of an initial $12,485 fee for the services of a Missouri interpreter for 227 hours.

The additional fee was for six additional itemization claims, including interpreting and traveling fees ranging as far as 100 miles, reported KCCI. The most recent figure obtained by the outlet was from Sept. 20, for two-and-a-half hours of interpreting and 90 miles of travel, costing $143.

Iowa taxpayers have also had to fork out $5,000 to pay for expert investigators for Rivera, as well as an additional $3,200 for an expert witness, making the total bill about $22,082 for taxpayers, Breitbart found.
 
OCT 10, 2019
Attorneys for Mollie Tibbetts murder suspect ask for second trial delay after forensic evidence released
Chad and Jennifer Frese, attorneys of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, filed an application Wednesday to continue the Nov. 12 trial to a later date, citing forensic evidence released earlier this month by the State of Iowa Criminalistics Laboratory as the reason for the desired delay.

"The results of this forensic testing are critical to the defense of Mr. Bahena Rivera," the Freses wrote in the motion, adding that they need additional time to gather and prepare expert witnesses.

If a judge denies the request, they wrote, they will be denying Bahena Rivera the right to a fair trial.
 
OCT 12, 2019
Court grants second trial delay for the murder suspect of Mollie Tibbetts
[...]

The trial is now set for 9 a.m. on Feb. 4, 2020.

Chad and Jennifer Frese, attorneys of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, filed an application Wednesday to continue the Nov. 12 trial to a later date, citing forensic evidence released earlier this month by the State of Iowa Criminalistics Laboratory as the reason for the desired delay.

"The results of this forensic testing are critical to the defense of Mr. Bahena Rivera," the Freses wrote in the motion, adding that they need additional time to gather and prepare expert witnesses.

[...]
 
OCT 17, 2019
Suspect in Mollie Tibbetts’ Murder Asks Judge to Approve Sleep Deprivation Expert Witness
[...]

Attorneys for Cristhian Rivera filed a motion Wednesday to request the court’s approval to appoint expert witnesses. They are also asking for the state to pay for hiring those experts as well as services already provided by a translator.

[...]

The motion filed Wednesday asks for approval of Dr. Kimberly Fenn of Michigan State University, an expert in the area of sleep deprivation and its effects on the actions and statements of the sleep-deprived, as an expert witness.

The motion states, “Defendant has raised the issue of voluntariness of his statement to law enforcement as well as whether any waiver of a purported advisement of Miranda rights was knowing and voluntary.”

Rivera’s attorneys are also asking that the interpreter who was court-appointed to assist their client be given expert witness status, in order to allow her to be compensated. The motion claims “neither the State Public Defendant nor State Court Administration want to compensate Ms. Gardner for the services she has rendered to date. Citing various bureaucratic reasons, Ms. Gardner is being characterized as simply providing interpreter services and thus cannot be compensated.”

[...]

The motion asks for a $2,500 retainer to be approved for Dr. Fenn, $3,000 be approved for DNA expert Dr. Michael Spence and for the interpreter to be given expert witness status and her previous claims for compensation be approved.

[...]

Three days of hearings are planned for next week, starting Tuesday, on motions to suppress evidence in the case. Rivera’s attorneys want his alleged confession thrown out as well as evidence found during a search of his car excluded because they claim their client wasn’t read his Miranda rights. Investigators say Tibbetts’ blood was found during that search.

[...]
 
OCT 20, 2019
Botched Miranda warning excludes statements in Tibbetts case
[...]

Prosecutors have agreed to exclude some statements that 25-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera reportedly made to police.

Court documents filed Friday by prosecutors acknowledge that the initial Miranda warning given to Rivera around 11:30 p.m. on August 20th, 2018, failed to inform him that anything he said could be used against him in court.

His Miranda rights were accurately read to him a second time at 5:50 a.m. August 21st, as police were in a cornfield where Tibbetts’ body was found.

[...]
 
OCT 21, 2019
Motion to Suppress Hearing Tuesday for Suspect in Mollie Tibbetts’ Murder
A hearing begins Tuesday in Poweshiek County on a motion to suppress a portion of Christhian Rivera’s interview with police – where he is alleged to have confessed to killing Mollie Tibbetts.

[...]

The hearing is expected to last three days.

OCT 20, 2019
Lawyers argue over evidence in Mollie Tibbetts case as prosecutors admit Miranda rights were not properly read
[...]

The state does argue in Friday’s filings that they should be able to use statements Rivera made between 11:30 p.m. and 5:50 a.m. to refute testimony. Defense lawyers say the statements should be fully suppressed.

Rivera led cops to Tibbetts’ body after confessing during a lengthy interrogation, according to authorities. Defense lawyers argue that police deceived Rivera when they told him he could benefit from confessing to the brutal murder.

“Help yourself, do it for yourself, think about you,” one of the officers told the suspect, according to the Des Moines Register. “Think about your daughter that will need you. Right now, don’t you see that little face of that little girl?”

[...]

“The defendant led police directly to Mollie’s body at the conclusion of the interview, he was seen in proximity to Mollie while she was running on the last night of her life, and Mollie’s blood was found in the trunk of the Defendant’s car,” the prosecution wrote, according to the newspaper.

[...]
 
OCT 22, 2019
Hearing for man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts reset after family emergency
A judge reset a hearing, postponed early Tuesday, to Nov. 13 for the man charged with fatally stabbing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts.

[...]

Expert witnesses will testify, during next month’s hearing, about how sleep deprivation affects a person’s judgment and DNA. A court interpreter will also challenge the accuracy of the Spanish used by law enforcement and the translated transcript provided by the prosecution.

[...]

The prosecution’s motion also details how surveillance footage showed a jogger going northbound on Boundary Street where witnesses confirmed Tibbetts was jogging about that time on July 18, 2018. No other jogger was seen in the area during this time.

The same surveillance video showed a black Chevy Malibu with “distinct characteristics” going by multiple times in the minutes after Tibbetts jogged that route, according to court documents.

[...]

Authorities obtained written and verbal consent from Bahena Rivera in Spanish to search both the Malibu and his girlfriend’s vehicle, which was driving that day, according to the prosecution. The state crime lab analysis showed blood found on the inside seal and liner of the Malibu’s trunk belonged to Tibbetts.

Bahena Rivera, who wasn’t in custody, voluntarily talked with authorities at the sheriff’s office, according to court documents. He admitted that Tibbetts said “hi” to him during the multiple times he passed her jogging and said the woman “was hot.”

[...]

“He gradually shifted from a denial of killing Mollie to a claim that he ‘didn’t remember’ doing anything to her,” court documents show.

[...]

Bahena Rivera then asked to speak to one of the officers and he told her he remembered “fighting” with Tibbetts, putting her in the car, and there was blood, court documents show. He couldn’t “say if she was dead or alive” but also remembered putting Tibbetts in the cornfield.

[...]

After finding her body, an officer again read him the Miranda warning, complete this time, according to court documents. At that time, Bahena Rivera admitted to seeing Tibbetts jogging and he followed her. He then got out of his vehicle and jogged beside her. When Tibbetts threatened to call the police, it made him angry, he said.

He remembered being near a cornfield and covering the woman, who had blood on her head and body, with corn, according to court documents. Bahena Rivera refused to answer some questions, including how Tibbetts was killed. He said he didn’t remember.

[...]
 
Judge: Some evidence can be thrown out during Cristhian Bahena Rivera trial

Dec 23, 2019

In November during a suppression hearing for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the defense witnesses laid out who Bahena is as a person and what could have happened to contribute to what his defense calls an involuntary "alleged" confession.

The state agrees the court should suppress any statements Bahena 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.

The officer testified in court she inadvertently left out the sentence about anything he said being used against him in court.

However, the judge's ruling on the motion clearly states any physical evidence gathered during the first interview will be allowed, despite the Miranda violation.

Bahena's trial is set to begin on Tuesday, February 4th in Woodbury County.
 
Judge says key evidence can be used in Mollie Tibbetts' slaying - KTIV

Dec 23, 2019

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- In a victory for prosecutors, a judge has ruled that they can use key evidence against the man charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.

Judge Joel Yates agreed with prosecutors that some statements made by Cristhian Bahena 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 Tibbetts, who disappeared in July 2018 while out running in Brooklyn, Iowa.

He also ruled that they can use key blood evidence.
 
Judge rules in favor of state in Mollie Tibbetts case; most testimony, evidence, to be allowed at trial

Dec 23, 2019

A judge has ruled that, despite requests to suppress evidence, most testimony and evidence against the man accused of killing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts can be taken to trial.

District Judge Joel Yates, in an opinion filed Monday, has ruled in the defense's favor that any testimonial evidence obtained between when Cristhian Bahena Rivera was read his Miranda rights improperly and when he was read them properly about six hours later cannot be used at trial.

However, Yates disagreed with Bahena Rivera's other claims that his rights were violated.

Yates concluded that Bahena Rivera did consent to the search of his car, 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, according to court documents.

Lynn Hicks, a spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General's office, said the state is pleased with the ruling and is prepared to continue the trial, scheduled to begin Feb. 4, 2020, in Woodbury County. If convicted of first-degree murder, Bahena Rivera would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

[..]

Authorities have said that Bahena Rivera led them to Tibbetts’ body after telling police that he chased the young jogger after driving past her the evening she disappeared. She threatened to call police, at which point he said he got mad and “blocked his memory.” Bahena Rivera admitted to then finding her body in his trunk, before hiding her in a cornfield, according to court documents.

Autopsy results showed Tibbetts died of “multiple sharp force injuries.”
 
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.
 
Mollie Tibbetts case: Defense look to reverse judge's decision to deny evidence suppression

Jan 21, 2020

IOWA CITY — The man accused of murdering University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts is asking that the Supreme Court review a judge’s decision to deny his evidence suppression request and that his trial be delayed after an unidentified set of fingerprints and blood were discovered at one of the crime scenes.

Attorneys for Cristhian Bahena 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, Dalton Jack, who has since joined the military and been deployed to the Middle East.

Authorities have said that Bahena Rivera led them to Tibbetts’ body on Aug. 21, 2018, about a month after she went missing while on a run in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa.

Bahena Rivera, 25, previously told police he chased Tibbetts after driving past her on July 18, 2018, the evening she disappeared. She threatened to call police, at which point he said he got mad and “blocked his memory.” Bahena Rivera admitted to then finding her body in the trunk of the Chevrolet Malibu he was driving and hiding her in a cornfield, according to court documents.

Autopsy results showed 20-year-old Tibbetts died of “multiple sharp force injuries.”

On Jan. 15, the defense received DNA information from the state’s criminologist which indicated two other people’s blood was found with Tibbetts’ in the Malibu’s trunk, but neither matched that of Bahena Rivera, court records filed by the defense show. A set of fingerprints not belonging to Bahena Rivera was also found in the trunk.

Defense attorneys Chad and Jennifer Frese are asking that trial be delayed so investigators have more time to follow up on the blood and fingerprints, which they described as “highly exculpatory.”
 
Defense asks Mollie Tibbetts murder trial be delayed over blood and fingerprint evidence

Jan 21, 2020

Attorneys for the man accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts want to delay the upcoming murder trial while they sort out what they describe as the state’s recent revelation of unidentified blood and fingerprint evidence in the case.

The defense also asked, in a motion filed Tuesday, for the Iowa Supreme Court to review a district judge’s decision allowing crucial evidence at trial that the defendant previously sought to suppress.

According to the motion, defendant Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s attorneys asked to postpone the Feb, 4 trial to give the defense time to depose new witnesses called by the state, including Tibbetts’ boyfriend, Dalton Jack, who has since joined the military and been deployed to the Middle East.

Investigators with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation have said Bahena Rivera led them to Tibbetts’ body on Aug. 21, 2018, about a month after she disappeared while on a run in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa.
 

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