Found Deceased IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #47

[Gardenista]

Part 2 of Evidence Hearing

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=788800118245995

 

[Gardenista]

Part 3

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=738042190037981

 

[ManicMuggle83]

Agent: Mollie Tibbetts' body would have been found without confession

 

[ManicMuggle83]

I will be honest, I am not impressed with the woman tasked with translating. She isn't a certified translator, yet was in charge of translating for the miranda rights and interrogation.

We have to use a certified translator to communicate with patients needing care in the ER. You need 2 stitches and speak Spanish? Certified translator. You coughed funny twice, a week ago, and want to be seen for it? Certified translator.

Suspect in a murder case is being interrogated and read his rights by the FBI. Let's wing it.

Ugh. I give credit to the defense attorney for doing a good job of bringing this incompetence to light. If he gets a lesser conviction, or worse, it falls on pure incompetence IMO.

There is a lot of talk about about how words are translated and the meaning being portrayed correctly. This is why a certified translator is necessary! Like the defense said, there are 3 people in the room interrogating the client vs 2 people interrogating with 1 certified translator making sure everything is translated correctly.

(I am referring to the 3rd video)

 

[katydid23]

from pt 3:

Rivera:“ I didnt see her…so I went to my Uncles house…”

Interpreter says ‘ I want to tell you once again, I want to help you…”

Rivera: “I didnt follow her…I left ...

Int:“ We are trying to help you. But you are lying”

SO THE DEFENSE IS ANGRY THAT THE INTREPETER WAS ‘TRICKING HIM’—but the suspect was LYING about what he did.


Isn’t it the investigator’s job to try to get him to share the truth with them?


This female defense attorney is so annoying. She is trying to bash the Spanish Interpretor/ Police officer for bringing up the suspects little daughter, in trying to shame him into telling the truth.
Telling him, ‘think of your little girl, how is she going to feel about this”

What’s wrong with that?

This female defense attorney is trying to get sympathy for ‘her client’ as she keeps calling him, because everyone was trying to trick him, and everyone kept talking to him, even though he was tired. EVERYONE was tired. But they were looking for a missing college student.

So, Awww boo hooo. He is tired….He threw a young co-ed into the trunk of his car and slashed her throat. No one feels sorry for him.

The interpreter says “ we want to trust you..but we can’t trust you if you keep saying you don’t remember anything.”

Ok, what’s wrong with that, The defensive attorney says that was wrong to say he was untrustworthy.

[HE IS UNTRUSTWORTHY.]

Int: we’ve been nice to you. We want to keep it that way, Christian.

The suspect asks to speak to her alone. And Int, then says ‘OK, but there shouldn’t be anymore games.’ “We are not going to play anymore. No games, no lies “


suspect= “how can it help me?”



“They can help you by presenting you as a person who made a mistake, not as someone acting with malice. Or premeditation“



{how is any of that bad for her to say? the defense took issue with her saying that]

 

[katydid23]

I will be honest, I am not impressed with the woman tasked with translating. She isn't a certified translator, yet was in charge of translating for the miranda rights and interrogation.

We have to use a certified translator to communicate with patients needing care in the ER. You need 2 stitches and speak Spanish? Certified translator. You coughed funny twice, a week ago, and want to be seen for it? Certified translator.

Suspect in a murder case is being interrogated and read his rights by the FBI. Let's wing it.

Ugh. I give credit to the defense attorney for doing a good job of bringing this incompetence to light. If he gets a lesser conviction, or worse, it falls on pure incompetence IMO.

There is a lot of talk about about how words are translated and the meaning being portrayed correctly. This is why a certified translator is necessary! Like the defense said, there are 3 people in the room interrogating the client vs 2 people interrogating with 1 certified translator making sure everything is translated correctly.

(I am referring to the 3rd video)

I didn't see anything wrong with her work here. When she began talking to him, he was not the prime suspect. He was more like a witness in the case. He was one of many witnesses they had talked to that day.

They are not going to have a certified translator onhand at 10 pm, just to ask a possible suspect where he got the car he was driving.

Rivera killed that girl. He understand exactly what they were asking him about. I dont see anything wrong with the translators job. It was pretty direct what she was saying to him. Where is the body? JMO

 

[SharonNeedles]

The Latest: Officer says Miranda failure was a mistake

A police officer who obtained a confession from the suspect in the disappearance and death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts says she made an honest mistake by initially failing to read him his legal rights.

Officer Pamela Romero testified Wednesday that she tried to read Cristhian Bahena Rivera his Miranda warnings from memory during the Aug. 20, 2018, interrogation.

She said she didn’t realize until much later that she had inadvertently failed to warn him that his statements could be used against him in court.

 

[Ragnarok]

The Latest: Officer says Miranda failure was a mistake

A police officer who obtained a confession from the suspect in the disappearance and death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts says she made an honest mistake by initially failing to read him his legal rights.

Officer Pamela Romero testified Wednesday that she tried to read Cristhian Bahena Rivera his Miranda warnings from memory during the Aug. 20, 2018, interrogation.

She said she didn’t realize until much later that she had inadvertently failed to warn him that his statements could be used against him in court.

 

[Tiger Stripes]

from pt 3:

Rivera:“ I didnt see her…so I went to my Uncles house…”

Interpreter says ‘ I want to tell you once again, I want to help you…”

Rivera: “I didnt follow her…I left ...

Int:“ We are trying to help you. But you are lying”

SO THE DEFENSE IS ANGRY THAT THE INTREPETER WAS ‘TRICKING HIM’—but the suspect was LYING about what he did.


Isn’t it the investigator’s job to try to get him to share the truth with them?


This female defense attorney is so annoying. She is trying to bash the Spanish Interpretor/ Police officer for bringing up the suspects little daughter, in trying to shame him into telling the truth.
Telling him, ‘think of your little girl, how is she going to feel about this”

What’s wrong with that?

This female defense attorney is trying to get sympathy for ‘her client’ as she keeps calling him, because everyone was trying to trick him, and everyone kept talking to him, even though he was tired. EVERYONE was tired. But they were looking for a missing college student.

So, Awww boo hooo. He is tired….He threw a young co-ed into the trunk of his car and slashed her throat. No one feels sorry for him.

The interpreter says “ we want to trust you..but we can’t trust you if you keep saying you don’t remember anything.”

Ok, what’s wrong with that, The defensive attorney says that was wrong to say he was untrustworthy.

[HE IS UNTRUSTWORTHY.]

Int: we’ve been nice to you. We want to keep it that way, Christian.

The suspect asks to speak to her alone. And Int, then says ‘OK, but there shouldn’t be anymore games.’ “We are not going to play anymore. No games, no lies “


suspect= “how can it help me?”



“They can help you by presenting you as a person who made a mistake, not as someone acting with malice. Or premeditation“



{how is any of that bad for her to say? the defense took issue with her saying that]

--
Just adding a link to a Des Moines media site with an article on today's hearing:

Judge to determine if confession in Mollie Tibbetts murder will stand

 

[Gardenista]

The Latest: Officer says Miranda failure was a mistake

A police officer who obtained a confession from the suspect in the disappearance and death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts says she made an honest mistake by initially failing to read him his legal rights.

Officer Pamela Romero testified Wednesday that she tried to read Cristhian Bahena Rivera his Miranda warnings from memory during the Aug. 20, 2018, interrogation.

She said she didn’t realize until much later that she had inadvertently failed to warn him that his statements could be used against him in court.

This makes me want to throw up. I can't believe the prosecutor was so nice to her.

 

[rosesfromangels]

I didn't see anything wrong with her work here. When she began talking to him, he was not the prime suspect. He was more like a witness in the case. He was one of many witnesses they had talked to that day.

They are not going to have a certified translator onhand at 10 pm, just to ask a possible suspect where he got the car he was driving.

Rivera killed that girl. He understand exactly what they were asking him about. I dont see anything wrong with the translators job. It was pretty direct what she was saying to him. Where is the body? JMO

While I vehemently agree in principal, this error could most definitely create a big problem...we need Gitana to weigh in on this.
First we hear of a "black out" defense, and now this?! SMH...

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[ManicMuggle83]

They're trying to prove that the confession was coerced. Screaming in his face, putting hands on him, sleep deprivation, and using the suspect's daughter as means to leverage a confession are what the defense is using to show coercion. Then add in that he wasnt properly read his miranda rights nor did they cover their bases for making sure a proper translator was used. These are the things that didn't impress me at all. Especially when the translator was asked "did you say this" and she would say "yes, but what I intended was..." those gray areas can be diminished if you utilize proper channels. MOO

 

[Gardenista]

They're trying to prove that the confession was coerced. Screaming in his face, putting hands on him, sleep deprivation, and using the suspect's daughter as means to leverage a confession are what the defense is using to show coercion. Then add in that he wasnt properly read his miranda rights nor did they cover their bases for making sure a proper translator was used. These are the things that didn't impress me at all. Especially when the translator was asked "did you say this" and she would say "yes, but what I intended was..." those gray areas can be diminished if you utilize proper channels. MOO

IMO, they don't have a leg to stand on re: coercion, but the Miranda thing is a huge problem. I hope this woman was fired.

 

[Seattle1]

Mollie Tibbetts murder suspect appears in court for pre-trial hearing concerning his confession | Daily Mail Online

Nov 13, 2019

• Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 25, attended a hearing Wednesday to ask a judge to suppress his confession at trial, claiming his rights were violated
• Rivera was arrested in August 2018 after leading police to the body of missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts
• Investigators testified they believe her body would have been discovered even without Rivera's cooperation
• Defense lawyers want the judge to exclude Rivera's statements to police from his trial because he had not been read his Miranda rights
• Rivera is set to go to trial in February; if convicted, he could face life in prison

 

[Seattle1]

Judge to determine if confession in Mollie Tibbetts murder will stand

11/13/19

Wednesday morning, Poweshiek County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Kivi took the witness stand.

He testified that he couldn't communicate with Rivera due to a language barrier, but someone else was able to translate.

DCI Agent Trent Vileta testified that he was present for Rivera's interview with police.

He said they had a fluent Spanish-speaker from the Iowa City P.D. help conduct the interview to prevent anything from getting "lost in translation."

Agent Vileta does not speak Spanish. He says when he greeted Rivera it was in English. Rivera smiled and nodded so he assumed Rivera understood what he said.

Viletta said Pamela Ramero, one of the officers acting as a Spanish interpreter, failed to read Rivera his Miranda rights after he was arrested at the Sheriff's Office. Viletta thought she had, but also said he didn't give her a Miranda card to read Rivera.

[...]

Rivera is expected to stand trial in February in Woodbury County.

 

[rosesfromangels]

Judge to determine if confession in Mollie Tibbetts murder will stand

11/13/19

Wednesday morning, Poweshiek County Sheriff's Deputy Steve Kivi took the witness stand.

He testified that he couldn't communicate with Rivera due to a language barrier, but someone else was able to translate.

DCI Agent Trent Vileta testified that he was present for Rivera's interview with police.

He said they had a fluent Spanish-speaker from the Iowa City P.D. help conduct the interview to prevent anything from getting "lost in translation."

Agent Vileta does not speak Spanish. He says when he greeted Rivera it was in English. Rivera smiled and nodded so he assumed Rivera understood what he said.

Viletta said Pamela Ramero, one of the officers acting as a Spanish interpreter, failed to read Rivera his Miranda rights after he was arrested at the Sheriff's Office. Viletta thought she had, but also said he didn't give her a Miranda card to read Rivera.

[...]

Rivera is expected to stand trial in February in Woodbury County.

This doesn’t sound good folks.

amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Seattle1]

Officer: Mollie Tibbets accused killer was not read full Miranda rights

11/13/19

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — A police officer who obtained a confession from a suspect in the disappearance and death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts said Wednesday that she made an honest mistake when she failed to read him his complete legal rights.

Officer Pamela Romero testified that she tried to read Cristhian Bahena Rivera a Miranda warning during the Aug. 20, 2018, interrogation but didn’t realize until later that she left one part out, failing to tell him that his statements could be used against him in court. Romero said her failure was a mistake and not an attempt to keep him talking without a lawyer.


After several more hours of questioning, Rivera led officers to a cornfield where they discovered Tibbetts’ body underneath leaves and stalks. Tibbetts had disappeared a month earlier while out for a run in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, sparking a massive search.

After the discovery of the body, Romero said that she read Rivera his rights again and this time they were complete. She said that he provided “substantial information” about how Tibbetts was killed and left in the field at that point.

Romero testified during a daylong hearing on a request by Rivera’s lawyers to suppress statements he made during the interrogation and evidence related to the body.

The hearing, which will continue Thursday, will be critical in determining what evidence can be used against Rivera at his murder trial, which is scheduled for February. Judge Joel Yates is hearing testimony, though it was not immediately known when he was expected to rule on the matter.

[...]

Prosecutors concede that Rivera’s statements for about five hours leading to the discovery of Tibbetts’ body are likely inadmissible due to the incomplete Miranda warning. But they say the body itself should be admitted as evidence, arguing that it inevitably would have been discovered.

[...]

Rivera’s lawyers tried to cast doubt on that claim, noting that the murder weapon used to stab Tibbetts to death, her cell phone and her FitBit device have not been discovered.

 

[Gardenista]

Officer: Mollie Tibbets accused killer was not read full Miranda rights

11/13/19

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — A police officer who obtained a confession from a suspect in the disappearance and death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts said Wednesday that she made an honest mistake when she failed to read him his complete legal rights.

Officer Pamela Romero testified that she tried to read Cristhian Bahena Rivera a Miranda warning during the Aug. 20, 2018, interrogation but didn’t realize until later that she left one part out, failing to tell him that his statements could be used against him in court. Romero said her failure was a mistake and not an attempt to keep him talking without a lawyer.


After several more hours of questioning, Rivera led officers to a cornfield where they discovered Tibbetts’ body underneath leaves and stalks. Tibbetts had disappeared a month earlier while out for a run in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, sparking a massive search.

After the discovery of the body, Romero said that she read Rivera his rights again and this time they were complete. She said that he provided “substantial information” about how Tibbetts was killed and left in the field at that point.

Romero testified during a daylong hearing on a request by Rivera’s lawyers to suppress statements he made during the interrogation and evidence related to the body.

The hearing, which will continue Thursday, will be critical in determining what evidence can be used against Rivera at his murder trial, which is scheduled for February. Judge Joel Yates is hearing testimony, though it was not immediately known when he was expected to rule on the matter.

[...]

Prosecutors concede that Rivera’s statements for about five hours leading to the discovery of Tibbetts’ body are likely inadmissible due to the incomplete Miranda warning. But they say the body itself should be admitted as evidence, arguing that it inevitably would have been discovered.

[...]

Rivera’s lawyers tried to cast doubt on that claim, noting that the murder weapon used to stab Tibbetts to death, her cell phone and her FitBit device have not been discovered.

Wait. They are trying to get Mollie's body thrown out as evidence? Wow. I haven't kept up with this case because everything about it pisses me off so much, so that's the first I've heard about that.

 

[mickey2942]

IMO, they don't have a leg to stand on re: coercion, but the Miranda thing is a huge problem. I hope this woman was fired.

WTH!? Stop the madness. Definitely the officer needs to be gone. We have a paper at work, that must be read, verbatim, from the PAPER, when someone is making a statement.

No one ever just "wings it" and forgets to mention anything. That is why we have the PAPER right there. And you actually read it.

It is drilled into your head during basic training. Drilled. Read from the paper!

 

[Owutatangledweb]

While I vehemently agree in principal, this error could most definitely create a big problem...we need Gitana to weigh in on this.
First we hear of a "black out" defense, and now this?! SMH...

Amateur opinion and speculation

An interpreter is there to interpret, not to insert themselves into an investigation or proceeding. At that point, they become an agent of the State and if that person does something wrong, it falls on the state.