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

[PommyMommy]

MAY 25, 2021

DAY 5: Cristhian Bahena Rivera murder trial in death of Mollie Tibbetts

 

[mickey2942]

I am going to use that line..."I must have 'blacked out'." When my husband asks me about my trip to the shoe store. Yeah, I have no clue...I drove there...and came home with 6 boxes of shoes. Something happened.

Sorry, not making light of this situation. But it is at a point of being absolutely ludicrous.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAY 25, 2021
Mollie Tibbetts Murder: Defense Says Cristhian Bahena Rivera Falsely Confessed (lawandcrime.com)
[...]

The defense chose tactically to deliver the 10-minute-long opening statement after the state concluded its case in chief.

[...]

Frese and her co-counsel Chad Frese have long argued that the defendant was “interrogated” by the police after he’d worked a 12-hour shift on an area dairy farm. The 11-hour overnight interrogation, the defense has suggested, produced a coerced confession.

“He wasn’t in an interview; he was in an interrogation,” Frese said. “There’s no dispute on the facts that my client worked twelve hours at a dairy farm scooping poop, cleaning grounds, and then, at the end of his day, he was brought to the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office.”

The prosecutors and police officers have contended that Bahena Rivera was merely interviewed by police and that he was repeatedly told he was free to leave the police station before 11:30 p.m. the night he was interviewed.

The legal difference between a custodial interrogation and an interview where an individual is free to leave is critical to the analysis of whether the authorities must read a defendant his rights under Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Thompson v. Keohane (1995), and Yarborough v. Alvarado (2004). The reading of those rights serves as a de facto notification that a suspect is being arrested and, more importantly, is facing increasing legal jeopardy, so the police seek to delay the point at which an interview becomes a custodial interrogation in order to keep a defendant talking without thinking he needs to remain silent or hire an attorney.

[...]

“And then they started to confront him with the evidence,” Frese continued. “They confronted him with this videotape. They confronted him with these pictures. And they said, ‘you know, we don’t believe you. We don’t believe that you weren’t there.’ And the confrontation continues until it was put in my client’s head — ‘perhaps you blacked out.’ ...

Law enforcement officers have testified Bahena Rivera told them he blacked out when he confronted Tibbetts while jogging. They say Bahena Rivera admitted confronting Tibbetts because he thought she was “hot.” According to the official account, Bahena Rivera said he blacked out what happened next, which he claimed would happen to him from time to time when he became angry. The next thing the defendant claimed to recall was that Tibbetts’ ear phones were in his car and her body was in his trunk, law enforcement officers testified.

The defense suggested it was law enforcement who fed Bahena Rivera at least part of the story.

[...]

Frese said alternate suspects were “ignored or not looked into” and said it was her “duty” to bring all such evidence to the jury.

She then reminded jurors that they all carried different life experiences into this case but were connected by one legally critical thread: “each one of you has the power to say no” to the state’s charges, she said.

[...]

 

[Seattle1]

I think it was an excuse for him to not have to tell the police what he did. Now he is sort of stuck with it. He was willing to show the police where her body was, but he just didn't want to tell them how it happened.

I think CBR was too embarrassed to disclose everything he did Mollie to Officer Romero, and the angry black-out story (as in my soccer days) was the easiest bluff he could come up with at the time. His final "I brought you here" was his defiant way of saying stop asking me for any more details-- I'm done. MOO

 

[PommyMommy]

Courtney Crowder on Twitter
Mollie's life, her goodness, was highlighted quite a bit today. I am thankful for that and hoping that brings some comfort to her family.
3:21 PM · May 25, 2021·Twitter Web App

 

[MsBetsy]

I think it was an excuse for him to not have to tell the police what he did. Now he is sort of stuck with it. He was willing to show the police where her body was, but he just didn't want to tell them how it happened.

Yes. Initially I thought the defense might use his story of having blackouts when he got angry to claim he had some sort of medical or mental health problem.

But of course that wouldn't work if it wasn't true and there was no history or documentation of such a disorder. Imo

 

[mickey2942]

Yes. Initially I thought the defense might use his story of having blackouts when he got angry to claim he had some sort of medical or mental health problem.

But of course that wouldn't work if it wasn't true and there was no history or documentation of such a disorder. Imo

Wait for it. Tomorrow, there won't be any hx, because CBR had no access to medical treatment, no health care. No insurance.

I am waiting for a reason how he knew where Mollie's body was found. With this trial, it should be really something.

 

[TL4S]

I think CBR was too embarrassed to disclose everything he did Mollie to Officer Romero, and the angry black-out story (as in my soccer days) was the easiest bluff he could come up with at the time. His final "I brought you here" was his defiant way of saying stop asking me for any more details-- I'm done. MOO

I agree. Right after that he admitted he didn't feel bad about what he did, either. It's like it was just another day.

I have to say, I like the prosecution sticking with the known facts and asking all the witnesses, "Did you have access to a black Malibu?" "Did you lead law enforcement to the body?" Etc.

 

[TL4S]

MAY 25, 2021
Mollie Tibbetts Murder: Defense Says Cristhian Bahena Rivera Falsely Confessed (lawandcrime.com)
[...]

The defense chose tactically to deliver the 10-minute-long opening statement after the state concluded its case in chief.

[...]

Frese and her co-counsel Chad Frese have long argued that the defendant was “interrogated” by the police after he’d worked a 12-hour shift on an area dairy farm. The 11-hour overnight interrogation, the defense has suggested, produced a coerced confession.

“He wasn’t in an interview; he was in an interrogation,” Frese said. “There’s no dispute on the facts that my client worked twelve hours at a dairy farm scooping poop, cleaning grounds, and then, at the end of his day, he was brought to the Poweshiek County Sheriff’s Office.”

The prosecutors and police officers have contended that Bahena Rivera was merely interviewed by police and that he was repeatedly told he was free to leave the police station before 11:30 p.m. the night he was interviewed.

The legal difference between a custodial interrogation and an interview where an individual is free to leave is critical to the analysis of whether the authorities must read a defendant his rights under Miranda v. Arizona (1966), Thompson v. Keohane (1995), and Yarborough v. Alvarado (2004). The reading of those rights serves as a de facto notification that a suspect is being arrested and, more importantly, is facing increasing legal jeopardy, so the police seek to delay the point at which an interview becomes a custodial interrogation in order to keep a defendant talking without thinking he needs to remain silent or hire an attorney.

[...]

“And then they started to confront him with the evidence,” Frese continued. “They confronted him with this videotape. They confronted him with these pictures. And they said, ‘you know, we don’t believe you. We don’t believe that you weren’t there.’ And the confrontation continues until it was put in my client’s head — ‘perhaps you blacked out.’ ...

Law enforcement officers have testified Bahena Rivera told them he blacked out when he confronted Tibbetts while jogging. They say Bahena Rivera admitted confronting Tibbetts because he thought she was “hot.” According to the official account, Bahena Rivera said he blacked out what happened next, which he claimed would happen to him from time to time when he became angry. The next thing the defendant claimed to recall was that Tibbetts’ ear phones were in his car and her body was in his trunk, law enforcement officers testified.

The defense suggested it was law enforcement who fed Bahena Rivera at least part of the story.

[...]

Frese said alternate suspects were “ignored or not looked into” and said it was her “duty” to bring all such evidence to the jury.

She then reminded jurors that they all carried different life experiences into this case but were connected by one legally critical thread: “each one of you has the power to say no” to the state’s charges, she said.

[...]

Does the fact that CBR had free access to his phone help determine whether it was an interview vs an interrogation?

 

[Al Hoffman]

No way to know what the previous owner put in the trunk.

For Sale:. Low mileage black Chevy Malibu, with chrome rims and mirrors. Only used on weekends by a serial killer/rapist. Trunk is broom clean.

 

[skyedaze]

Not sure what that means.

If he grabs her by her clothing...that can come off and she can get away.
If he grabs her by the pony tail...she can not get out of that..it doesn't just come off.

 

[Seattle1]

There have been two trials this year where I've been taken back by the testimony of a witness: in this trial -- it was the DCI Agent's testimony that they'd never seen such "nice" text messages by the victim during an investigation!

The second was where a Police Captain took the stand to vouch for the credibility of a former jail inmate -- a "snitch" that provided information on a case leading to a conviction.

I really don't expect I'll ever see either of these examples repeated. MOO

 

[skyedaze]

So was DJ just interviewed/examined by the defense or interrogated?

I couldn't believe the Mr. asked DJ if he blacked out. If I had been DJ I would have answered, "No you are confusing me with your client....the man right there with my girlfriends blood all over the trunk of his car. The one who drove her to a cornfield and covered her body with cornstalks, and took LE to her dead body. That guy right there!"

 

[skyedaze]

For Sale:. Low mileage black Chevy Malibu, with chrome rims and mirrors. Only used on weekends by a serial killer/rapist. Trunk is broom clean.

except for a couple of spots here and there.....see pics..

 

[Seattle1]

So was DJ just interviewed/examined by the defense or interrogated?

I'd say DJ was treated as a hostile witness during both examination and cross-examination by the defense. IMO, the defense was on a mission since the day they learned his name.

Police publically cleared DJ and also Mollie's brothers after proving their alibis and comparing them to the facts of the investigation.

 

[Al Hoffman]

... and the hyoid bone was broken. = strangulation in addition during such? MOO

According to the Forensic Anthropologist, the Hyoid bone was not part of MT's skeleton presented for review.

 

[skyedaze]

Honestly I don't think it looked so good with DJ saying he didn't recall so often....although I can understand some of the time because of the ambiguity of many of the questions.
A question of "Do you recall a conversation on July 18th.." well which conversation, when, about what?
Or do you recall a snapchat from 4 years ago...they prob did 100s of snapchats a day. That's like do you know what you had for breakfast Jan 10, 2018...well no.

 

[PrairieWind]

Does the fact that CBR had free access to his phone help determine whether it was an interview vs an interrogation?

Not really. The real question is whether he is in custody or not. If he is free to go, then he is not in custody. Custody determines if he must be read his Miranda rights. However, letting him keep the phone does help bolster the claim that he was not in custody.

 

[Warwick7]

Yes. Initially I thought the defense might use his story of having blackouts when he got angry to claim he had some sort of medical or mental health problem.

But of course that wouldn't work if it wasn't true and there was no history or documentation of such a disorder. Imo

And both the aunt and ex girl friend did him no favors by saying they had never witnessed or seen any black outs from him.

 

[skyedaze]

Who was the relative earlier who testified that she was friendly when CBR first moved to IA but later on they were not around him? Do we know anything about what happened there?
Sorry I can't remember....I must have blacked out..