IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #37

[distracted]

Boy oh boy! He has the right to a speedy trial but sometimes these things take years. What I really think is he'll eventually be advised by his atty. to plead guilty once all the discovery is shared.
What do you think?

I don't believe this will happen. He has nothing to lose by fighting for an acquittal. There isn't a death penalty to entice him to take a plea.

And, sadly, I don't think the political climate will allow anything but a trial. Someone hired his attorney. <modsnip> He won't admit or plea to anything.

 

[MsBetsy]

From what I understand he said earpiece cover on his lap, the headphone set still on her.

It was an earbud. We didn't have those way back when. That's probably why you are thinking headphones.

 

[MassGuy]

Morbid to ask, but what state does a body have to be in to conclude multiple sharp force injuries? Can they easily come to that conclusion a month out after decomposition? Or easier to tell maybe a few days or a week out?

If there is any soft tissue remaining, it may still be evident. Bones will show evidence of knife knicks, and clothing will have holes.

 

[jillycat]

I have no idea if the exchange is true or not, but I can certainly envision it happening the way he claims.

He runs alongside her, she feels incredibly uncomfortable (because this just isn’t normal), and she says to him “If you don’t leave me alone, I’m going to call the police.”

Maybe she would have followed through with the call regardless, or maybe she would have let it go, we’ll never know.

It’s akin to pulling out a gun and saying “if you don’t back off, I’m going to shoot.” Those words, like the ones Mollie may have uttered, are enough to make many potential perpetrators back off. They simply didn’t work here, if they were said.

I think it seems odd to me because he would have to catch up with her, disable her and drag or carry her, or convince her to return to his car, then get her in the trunk, before anyone saw him. It seems he had several obstacles with having to get her back to his car. Who knows, it's hard to know how much truth vs embellishment or utter lie. Since he jumped to the blocked memory scenario so quickly, it's anyone's guess what he actually did. I suspect he may have hit her really hard or used something to incapacitate her.

 

[Warwick7]

https://www.pathology.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/Types and patterns of injury.pdf

I wanted to know what a sharp force injury was defined as. This was very inteinteresting

 

[MassGuy]

I think it seems odd to me because he would have to catch up with her, disable her and drag or carry her, or convince her to return to his car, then get her in the trunk, before anyone saw him. It seems he had several obstacles with having to get her back to his car. Who knows, it's hard to know how much truth vs embellishment or utter lie. Since he jumped to the blocked memory scenario so quickly, it's anyone's guess what he actually did. I suspect he may have hit her really hard or used something to incapacitate her.

Yeah. You certainly don’t take anything he says at face value. All it takes is one well placed punch to the face, and she would have been quite easy to abduct. I don’t think there was any “convincing” here. It was the only method he knew, force.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

I don't believe a word of CR's story at this point. Until evidence is presented to confirm his words, I choose to believe he did not know about the phone until later in the cornfield. If MT was not holding the phone, where would she have had it where CR would not immediately realize it was on her person?

I agree with this, and am guessing if she was not holding her phone when she was attacked, it was in her armband, and was probably discovered and disabled later on in the process of the attack along with her fitbit, which probably looked like more of a watch or bracelet, both of which could have been snatched off her and destroyed within minutes of her being disabled and CR "coming to" after his "blackout".

 

[MyBelle]

That's interesting. Do you think he could have been involved with this with girls from Mexico?

Yes. I think either human or drug trafficking. The Iowa State Fair was coming up in Des Moines and that attracts more than a million people. Prostitution goes hand-in-hand to events like that. It just concluded the other day.

 

[MsBetsy]

Morbid to ask, but what state does a body have to be in to conclude multiple sharp force injuries? Can they easily come to that conclusion a month out after decomposition? Or easier to tell maybe a few days or a week out?

They can tell from the bones, especially the skull, I believe.

 

[kkdj]

If he were older than 24, I’d firmly expect some criminal activity in Mexico. The fact that he’s been in the United States for up to the past 7 years, makes the Mexican angle less likely for me. He’s almost certainly committed abhorrent behavior prior to this, what it is, and to what extent, we may never know.

This is sensible to me. I do think he has performed SA's on others thru out his time here and possibly while in Mexico. I doubt he was in the sex trade business tho as I feel his motivation was for himself and not about money.

 

[ChuckMaureen]

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07418825.2012.659200?journalCode=rjqy20&#preview

...trajectory analyses reveal that immigrants are no more crime-prone than the native-born. Foreign-born individuals exhibit remarkably low levels of involvement in crime across their life course. Moreover, it appears that by the second generation, immigrants have simply caught up to their native-born counterparts in respect to their offending.

It is possible CR became who he is (one who is capable of murder) after having lived in this country for the "four to seven years" reported by LE but it is impossible to know since we have no reference to his behavior before coming to the States and for during his stay in the States up until the moment of this tragic crime.

The attorney who represented CR at the hearing noted CR has no previous criminal record.

Other, separate concerns I have:

• How did CR receive his pay? Check? Direct Deposit? Cash?

•How were Local, State and Federal taxes attributed (withheld) to CR's SSN (registered to a different name) without a red flag being raised?

• What of CR's tax returns? Who completed and submitted them, if at all?

I have my suspicions but I believe we are not permitted to discuss that angle. I hope certain facts in this case (regarding the answers to the questions above and the people to who they might lead) are not suppressed (via DHS hush-hush). Given the situation, this aspect of the case might go unnoticed and those responsible for enabling that process will likely go unpunished. Forum rules prevent me from expounding further.

 

[Al Hoffman]

Do you know if they are still watering the corn or is it in the drying stage?

I think God waters the corn, and it drys out come fall. Any farmboys out there?

 

[MassGuy]

I think God waters the corn, and it drys out come fall. Any farmboys out there?

I think you win the internet tonight.

 

[Warwick7]

https://www.pathology.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/Types and patterns of injury.pdf

I wanted to know what a sharp force injury was defined as. This was very inteinteresting

So it can either be incised wound or a stab wound. I really don't understand "incised"

 

[mtnlites]

https://www.pathology.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/Types and patterns of injury.pdf

I wanted to know what a sharp force injury was defined as. This was very inteinteresting

"Sharp force injuries" are just injuries made by ANY object with a sharp end. "Blunt force injuries" are injuries made by objects with blunt ends.

A stab wound is a sharp force injury.

Forensic Autopsy of Sharp Force Injuries: Overview, Definitions, Scene Findings

 

[jillycat]

Yeah. You certainly don’t take anything he says at face value. All it takes is one well placed punch to the face, and she would have been quite easy to abduct. I don’t think there was any “convincing” here. It was the only method he knew, force.

Exactly, it had to have been swift because I do not see a lot of conversation about whether or not she was going to get in the car. I think he simply disabled her to facilitate the greater goal of taking her to another location for his greater crime.

 

[Anthony D]

It was an earbud. We didn't have those way back when. That's probably why you are thinking headphones.

The affidavit makes it sound like at least part of the headset was still on her though. So one earbud on lap and the rest of headset and the wire on Mollie?

 

[Copper]

So it can either be incised wound or a stab wound. I really don't understand "incised"

I'm guessing "incised" is like biting. Not only is tissue penetrated, but it is also crushed. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[MyBelle]

Do you know if they are still watering the corn or is it in the drying stage?

Plenty of rain to water the corn. We drove across Iowa on I-80 on July 23, and the rolling hills around the Brooklyn exit showed very healthy fields of corn and soybeans. It was raining sporadically and we spotted a rainbow in the sky southeast of the Brooklyn exit. I said a little prayer for Mollie.

 

[dreamwarrior66]

Oh I forgot about the fitbit showing her heart beat.
"The affidavit had the time of incident lasting about 45 minutes so I think they know when her heart stopped because of the fitbit."

It's a preliminary guestimate from 7:45 to 8:28. 7:45 seems too early for her to make it out to 385th-ish, but he may started to follow her around that time. The actual attack may be 8pm