712 Digital Group - top

Trial delayed for suspect in death of Mollie Tibbetts

News

July 10th, 2020 by Ric Hanson

MONTEZUMA, Iowa. (AP) — The trial of a man charged in the killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts has been delayed. Cristhian Bahena Rivera was supposed to be tried in September, but the first-degree murder case was reset Friday to January because of of the pandemic and changing orders from the Iowa Supreme Court on when jury trials can resume. Investigators say Rivera, 25, stalked Tibbetts while she was out for a run in Brooklyn, Iowa, and stabbed her to death. Tibbetts, 20, disappeared on July 18, 2018. After a massive police and volunteer effort to find her, authorities say, Bahena Rivera led them to her body.