Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #44

[MsBetsy]

Even if he did/does have it, it's not a defense for what he did. Having problems with relationships, social cues, self care, etc. doesn't mean you don't know right from wrong. It just seemed like people were sometimes describing my son and others I know with high functioning autism when I read descriptions of him given by others. The one thing that doesn't fit though is that my son (and most others I know) turn their anger inward rather than outward, and would be more likely to self-mutilate or attempt suicide than murder someone who had scorned them. MOO

Right, it certainly doesnt excuse what he did, and my opinion is that he does not have a form of autism. And I certainly agree they know right from wrong. Even if they didn't understand some things to be innapropriate (rather than wrong) it's ingrained over and over throughout their entire childhood, both by teachers and parents. If anything they sometimes can be overly conscience to the point of being perfectionists, at least that's how others may see it. Children like this tend to be consistent in their behavior. And yes, they do tend to turn their anger inward, imo. But there is a huge difference between having autistic tendencies and having a personality disorder. I don't think anyone is implying that he has autism. Just that there may be some similarities that sound familiar to you. To me there is a world of difference. Imo, kids and people with autism are completely different. As long as they are in their comfort zone, they are perfectly content. For some, if you take away their daily lucky charms or favorite toys, they will protest and you will surely know what the problem is. As angry as they get, I've never even seen that anger expressed towards the person, they simply need to stick to their routine. So imo it's not even something you can compare to Rivera's behavior. Jmo

 

[wary]

A long while!

I agree with you. Even if an Attorney would take the case, whom ever he files for must have standing. I don't think that anyone involved with standing will go there. However, if DJ were to become angry or bitter enough....though I would think that RT would ask that he please not.

Just a posit, just MHOO.

Would DJ have any standing? Mollie's status was 'girlfriend'--not even 'fiancee.' I don't intend this to denigrate their relationship--but from a legal standpoint, I wouldn't think that he'd be able to do anything.

 

[MyBelle]

I get the sense, and I may be wrong, that many people hope all of CR's other alleged illegal acts, i.e., coming into country illegally, using fake id, driving without a valid license, etc, will come into the trial and kinda have a cumulative effect, so that the jurors think, well, he did all these other things, so he probably killed this young woman too. I get that, and part of me feels the same way, but jurors can't decide his guilt on one charge based on guilt in some other completely unrelated charge, and ultimately, none of those other things is part of his murder charge. If he was charged and convicted of all those other things, but not convicted of murder, would anyone feel that justice had been served by a minimal sentence, if any? I think not. Likewise, if he is convicted of murder, he is in prison for the rest of his life, and no other charge is going to keep him there after death, as a previous poster noted. JMO

Why would either the state or the feds waste time and taxpayer resources prosecuting CR for less serious crimes? That makes no sense to me.

I'm confident there is sufficient evidence of MT's murder that the jury will have no problem whatsoever delivering a guilty verdict. One would have to live under an Iowa bridge not to be aware of this case and Rivera's history. JMO

 

[MsBetsy]

What name does he go by on fb?

I still would like very much to see a picture of him smiling. Don't know if anyone has found one, but most people at least have one picture of themselves with a smile on their face. I haven't yet seen one of him. Can't even guess what he looks like happy, with a big grin on his face.

 

[wary]

I researched the significance of covering a body after a murder. I found it indicates a younger person and the feeling of remorse or not wanting to accept what they did. Other research showed using a knife could indicate some type of emotional attachment to the victim.

I've heard these things before, and feel profoundly skeptical of them.

I'm sure it's true in some cases, but...I think that covering the body indicates a hope that people will not find it as soon, which will increase the chances of the perp getting away with the crime.

And I think that the use of a knife might mean that the perp doesn't have access to a gun, or doesn't want to attract the attention that a gun shot might cause. There's also multiple psychological reasons why someone might use a knife, that wouldn't indicate an emotional connection to the particular victim.

 

[MsBetsy]

Would DJ have any standing? Mollie's status was 'girlfriend'--not even 'fiancee.' I don't intend this to denigrate their relationship--but from a legal standpoint, I wouldn't think that he'd be able to do anything.

They had a three year relationship and lived together at least part of the time. I would think he would have some say. The promise ring indicates an intention to become engaged. I don't know if Iowa is a common law state, but in some places if you have lived together long enough you have a common law marriage, or at least entitled to the same things a lawfully married couple are. I don't know the details on that, though. But at least he may be recognized as the fiancee, it would be interesting to know if that's the case.

 

[Seattle1]

Please don't get us going on fitbits or red shirts again....at least until the Texas college football games start tonight.....LOL !

That's a 232..

 

[Gardenista]

I still would like very much to see a picture of him smiling. Don't know if anyone has found one, but most people at least have one picture of themselves with a smile on their face. I haven't yet seen one of him. Can't even guess what he looks like happy, with a big grin on his face.

If you follow breadcrumbs from what we've learned about his relationships, you can find a couple of photos of him smiling.

 

[MyBelle]

he took LE to the body. how would not having a DL help convict him more than leading to the body, admitting to putting her in the trunk, telling the route he took?

Not having a driver's license is just one example in a long list of CR's deceptive character and total disregard of laws. He stole someone's identity and presented it as his own. He threw away Mollie's body. CR is devoid of empathy and the prosecutor's job is to paint a big picture for the jury. JMO

 

[MyBelle]

Even in Iowa, the misdemeanor would be Municipal Court (overlaps Civil) --that might even be handled by mail with no appearance!

If he was stopped by Iowa LE, they most certainly would have paid close attention to his old out-of-state ID and would investigate it, imo.

 

[kpm]

Rivera seems quite comfortable with violence against women. Chances are he's a fan.

From some of his pics I’m wonder if he might have been hiding a side of himself

 

[oceanblueeyes]

Or it could be that he was just trying to hide the body. I don't think we have any evidence to suggest that he knew her well enough to be emotionally attached. Also we don't know that the weapon was a knife. It could have been a hatchet. Or a variety of things.[/QUOT

I researched the significance of covering a body after a murder. I found it indicates a younger person and the feeling of remorse or not wanting to accept what they did. Other research showed using a knife could indicate some type of emotional attachment to the victim.

I would think that is based on murderers who knew the victim since the majority of victims are killed by someone they knew. I have seen many cases where the suspect/s covered the face on the ones they murdered due to having a close personal relationship. Such as parents murdering their children/spousal murder or bf/gf or children murdering parent/s and or siblings. There seems to be a close personal connection somehow.

I do not think that remotely applies to Mollies case or CR. LE said they have found no connection that shows they knew each other.

Imo covering her body was done trying to hide the murdered victim he had discarded hoping it wasnt found by searchers or birds which may have alerted LE to the location.

Imo this had nothing to do with his remorse...i don't think he had an ounce of remorse or an emotional attachment. This was done hoping she wouldn't be found.

As far as using a deadly knife..it wasn't about having a personal attachment to his victim imo. He chose a knife because that was his weapon of choice. Instead of using a firearm he preferred his victim had a more prolonged painful death. He wanted her to see who was going to take her life by having to look in his eyes and feel his breath.

If he had used a firearm he could have shot her in the back of the head instantly killing her and wouldn't have had to face her as he took her life. But he wanted to end her life...face to face and that is why he preferred an up close choice of weapon imo. Rage is also an emotional response which I do believe he had.

He kept getting rejected even before Mollie rejected him like the others. This time he was going to make sure Mollie had no way to reject him. Imo he had already planned when he knew Mollie would reject him too but it wouldnt matter for he was going to take what he came to get. He was going to make sure she had no choice about what was going to happen to her from the moment he abducted her..all through the rape and during the time it took him to end her beautiful life. This time rejection wouldn't be an option. This time he came prepared to have full power and control to the very end. Imo he knew what he had come prepared to do and he carried it all out.

Imo

 

[MsBetsy]

I've heard these things before, and feel profoundly skeptical of them.

I'm sure it's true in some cases, but...I think that covering the body indicates a hope that people will not find it as soon, which will increase the chances of the perp getting away with the crime.

And I think that the use of a knife might mean that the perp doesn't have access to a gun, or doesn't want to attract the attention that a gun shot might cause. There's also multiple psychological reasons why someone might use a knife, that wouldn't indicate an emotional connection to the particular victim.

Here's an example of what I think you mean: A child in therapy draws a picture of her family, then colors the entire background black. The therapist is thinking something traumatic must have happened in her family. When she asks the child why she used the black crayon, the child quickly replies, " because it's nighttime!"

 

[MsBetsy]

I would think that is based on murderers who knew the victim since the majority of victims are killed by someone they knew. I have seen many cases where the suspect/s covered the face on the ones they murdered due to having a close personal relationship. Such as parents murdering their children/spousal murder or bf/f2f or children murdering parent/s and or siblings. There seems to be a close personal connection somehow.

I do not think that remotely applies to Mollies case or CR. LE said they have found no connection that shows they knew each other.

Imo covering her body was done trying to hide the murdered victim he had discarded hoping it wasnt found by searchers or birds which may have alerted LE to the location.

Imo this had nothing to do with his remorse...i don't think he had an ounce of remorse or an emotional attachment. This was done hoping she wouldn't be found.

As far as using a deadly knife..it wasn't about having a personal attachment to his victim imo. He chose a knife because that was his weapon of choice. Instead of using a firearm he preferred his victim had a more prolonged painful death. He wanted her to see who was going to take her life by having to look in his eyes and feel his breath.

If he had used a firearm he could have shot her in the back of the head instantly killing her and wouldn't have had to face her as he took her life. But he wanted to end her life...face to face and that is why he preferred an up close choice of weapon imo. Rage is also an emotional response which I do believe he had.

He kept getting rejected even before Mollie rejected him like the others. This time he was going to make sure Mollie had no way to reject him. Imo he had already planned when he knew Mollie would reject him too but it wouldnt matter for he was going to take what he came to get. He was going to make sure she had no choice about what was going to happen to her from the moment he abducted her..all through the rape and during the time it took him to end her beautiful life. This time rejection wouldn't be an option. This time he came prepared to have full power and control to the very end. Imo he knew what he had come prepared to do and he carried it all out.

Imo

I agree! In other words this was not what is referred to as an intimate partner homicide or a crime of passion.

 

[MsBetsy]

From some of his pics I’m wonder if he might have been hiding a side of himself

To me he appears extremely insecure and maybe a bit angry.

 

[Crystal Regan]

Big man says hello. Have we missed anything?

 

[MyBelle]

Opening and closing statements are in theory : telling people what you are going to say (opening statements), saying it (trial), telling people what you just said (closing statements). Making claims in an opening statement that are not supported in trial can undermine the credibility of the prosecution.

Police can say whatever they want to the media. That doesn't make those statements relevant or admissible in court.

The media makes all sorts of statements that have nothing to do with a murder prosecution.

In Iowa, opening statements include the charges, a summary of the case and the evidence to support the charges. If you want to believe CR's history of deception and fraud aren't going to be part of that summary, go for it. I'm confident it will be. JMO

https://www.iowacourts.gov/static/media/cms/E0402_4AB079FBEE8C6.pdf

 

[kpm]

To me he appears extremely insecure and maybe a bit angry.

Strange how we all have our own thoughts on him, lol

I see him as desperate to get noticed, he loves his selfies and tight pants and earrings, he’s advertising

Jmo

 

[cody22]

View attachment 146254 Big man says hello. Have we missed anything?

That dog looks guilty of something to me.... We all may need to consider "sleuthing" that handsome , but guilty looking dog.

 

[kpm]

View attachment 146254 Big man says hello. Have we missed anything?

What a cutie!