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

[PommyMommy]

OCT 21, 2019
Motion to Suppress Hearing Tuesday for Suspect in Mollie Tibbetts’ Murder
A hearing begins Tuesday in Poweshiek County on a motion to suppress a portion of Christhian Rivera’s interview with police – where he is alleged to have confessed to killing Mollie Tibbetts.

[...]

The hearing is expected to last three days.

OCT 20, 2019
Lawyers argue over evidence in Mollie Tibbetts case as prosecutors admit Miranda rights were not properly read
[...]

The state does argue in Friday’s filings that they should be able to use statements Rivera made between 11:30 p.m. and 5:50 a.m. to refute testimony. Defense lawyers say the statements should be fully suppressed.

Rivera led cops to Tibbetts’ body after confessing during a lengthy interrogation, according to authorities. Defense lawyers argue that police deceived Rivera when they told him he could benefit from confessing to the brutal murder.

“Help yourself, do it for yourself, think about you,” one of the officers told the suspect, according to the Des Moines Register. “Think about your daughter that will need you. Right now, don’t you see that little face of that little girl?”

[...]

“The defendant led police directly to Mollie’s body at the conclusion of the interview, he was seen in proximity to Mollie while she was running on the last night of her life, and Mollie’s blood was found in the trunk of the Defendant’s car,” the prosecution wrote, according to the newspaper.

[...]

 

[Ragnarok]

How can a police department in this day and age make a mistake like this?

 

[allboys]

I hate to do this, but it’s time to tell you folks I will not be attending this trial and reporting back to you as I had hoped. I’ve had some serious health issues and major setbacks, I’m no longer in any condition make that happen. I’ll be following closely, but not boots on the ground.

I’m so sorry to hear about your health issues @SharonNeedles . Thinking healing thoughts for you. Be well.

 

[Gardenista]

I haven't kept up with this case, so this may be a dupe, but Law & Crime just said on their FB that they will be airing the proceedings.

 

[Seattle1]

Bumping.... Prosecutor's long been refuting allegations by defense to suppress statements.

Aug 15, 2019

In a March 2018 filing, Bahena Rivera's attorneys began the process of trying to get his confession and other evidence thrown out because they claim the police's reading of his Miranda rights was "deficient," and that it was not given until eleven hours into their interrogation, a time when they say he obviously was in custody.

In addition, they now say that as a Mexican national, Bahena Rivera had a right to contact the Mexican consulate before speaking to police, something they say he was not told he could do.

The Des Moines Register reports that prosecutors, in a filing on May 31, refuted most of these allegations, saying the interview was conducted properly and that all evidence gathered is admissible. According to the newspaper, the prosecutors argued that the search of Bahena Rivera's car was valid because "he granted both verbal and written consent through a federal agent."

Bahena Rivera, they argued, also "could not be considered to have been in custody when initially taken to the sheriff's office because he'd agreed to talk, was given food and drink, wasn't restrained, had access to his phone and was told he was free to leave if he wanted."

According to the Register, investigators say when they asked him if they would find anything in his car when they searched it, Bahena Rivera said that "if he had anything to hide, he would have left out the door." Investigators did find blood, later identified as belonging to Tibbetts, in the trunk of his car.

Attorneys for Undocumented Immigrant Accused of Killing Mollie Tibbetts Argue His Rights Were Violated

 

[Seattle1]

Judge to Decide If Confession by Mollie Tibbetts’s Accused Killer Must Be Completely Kept Out of Trial

How much evidence can prosecutors use against Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man who allegedly murdered 20-year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts? A state judge is expected to hear arguments from both sides in a hearing scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The Law&Crime Network is scheduled to air the proceedings.

 

[mickey2942]

Bumping.... Prosecutor's long been refuting allegations by defense to suppress statements.

This is very interesting. When the killer gave a statement, was it in English or Spanish?

It seems that the killer was given Miranda Rights in Spanish. And officers do not have to Miranda people who are not being detained.

Many lower functioning illiterates have been "tricked" or "fooled" into confessions by the police, which has been determined to be legal for police officers to use deception during interviews. What would not be okay in this case, is to allow the issue of Spanish language to be the crux of this situation. This is a huge slippery slope, due to the fact that in Los Angeles alone, there are no less than 150 different languages being spoken in households.

Are law enforcement agencies held accountable for ensuring that translators are available for any language on demand?

Should the fact that the criminal in this case is also undocumented be considered? Why is there a higher standard of LEO expected for undocumented people who do not speak English?

If this goes to the Eighth Circuit, it is very conservative. Thank goodness Iowa is not in the Ninth circuit court!
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - Wikipedia

 

[Seattle1]

This is very interesting. When the killer gave a statement, was it in English or Spanish?

It seems that the killer was given Miranda Rights in Spanish. And officers do not have to Miranda people who are not being detained.

Many lower functioning illiterates have been "tricked" or "fooled" into confessions by the police, which has been determined to be legal for police officers to use deception during interviews. What would not be okay in this case, is to allow the issue of Spanish language to be the crux of this situation. This is a huge slippery slope, due to the fact that in Los Angeles alone, there are no less than 150 different languages being spoken in households.

Are law enforcement agencies held accountable for ensuring that translators are available for any language on demand?

Should the fact that the criminal in this case is also undocumented be considered? Why is there a higher standard of LEO expected for undocumented people who do not speak English?

If this goes to the Eighth Circuit, it is very conservative. Thank goodness Iowa is not in the Ninth circuit court!
United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - Wikipedia

I think that's the rub here. Allegedly, one of the detectives was Hispanic and talked to CR in Spanish. I think defense trying to use how detective befriended or was friendly to CR-- made him too comfortable. He appealed to him using his baby daughter as the bait.

Part of defense argument is nobody told CR he could talk to the consulate, and that he surely would have if he was told of this option. Yeah, right -- I don't believe any illegal would desire to contact the Mexican Consulate, ever!

MOO

 

[mickey2942]

I think that's the rub here. Allegedly, one of the detectives was Hispanic and talked to CR in Spanish. I think defense trying to use how detective befriended or was friendly to CR-- made him too comfortable. He appealed to him using his baby daughter as the bait.

Part of defense argument is nobody told CR he could talk to the consulate, and that he surely would have if he was told of this option. Yeah, right -- I don't believe any illegal would desire to contact the Mexican Consulate, ever!

MOO

That is not any different than what officers usually do, befriend and cajole a confession. Officers do not tell people who are not "detained" that they can stop talking and call an attorney.

 

[Seattle1]

That is not any different than what officers usually do, befriend and cajole a confession. Officers do not tell people who are not "detained" that they can stop talking and call an attorney.

You seem to forget that "CR is special."

 

[mickey2942]

You seem to forget that "CR is special."

Not unlike the killer of Kate Stinle, who was also "special". And not convicted of her murder.

 

[Niner]

Tuesday, October 22nd:
*Suppression Hearing (@ 9am CT) – IA – Mollie Cecilia Tibbetts (20) (July 18, 2018, Brooklyn; found Aug. 21, 2018) – *Cristhian Bahena Rivera aka John Budd (24) arrested (8/21/18), charged (8/22/18) & arraigned (9/19/18) with 1st degree murder. Plead not guilty. $5M cash only bond.
ICE logged an immigration detainer on Rivera. Confessed to killing Mollie.
Trial was to start on 11/12/19-moved to 2/4/20 (should last about 6 to 8 days). Trial moved from Poweshiek County to Woodbury County.
Court hearings from 8/22/18 thru 6/21/19 reference post #283 here:
Found Deceased - IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #47
8/15/19 Update: The scheduled August 23 hearing will still happen as scheduled to “address the Defendant’s right to have his trial within one year.” DA and Judge want CR to also waive his right to speedy trial in person. Oct. 22 & 23 hearing will determine whether or not certain information learned during that questioning can be used at trial. Suppression hearing re Miranda rights has been continued to 10/22 & 10/23.
8/23/19 Update: Hearing was scheduled to “address the defendant’s right to have his trial within one year.” Rivera's attorney said the defendant agrees to waive his right to a speedy trial. Rivera formally waives his right to a speedy trial. The hearing on the motion to suppress evidence was reset for Oct. 22 & 23 & 24.
10/9/19 Update: Defense motion to continue trial-granted. Citing forensic evidence released earlier this month by the State of Iowa Criminalistics Laboratory as the reason for the desired delay. Trial now scheduled for 2/4/20. 10/15/19: Defense filed a motion Wednesday to request the court’s approval to appoint expert witnesses. They are also asking for the state to pay for hiring those experts as well as services already provided by a translator. The motion filed Wednesday asks for approval of Dr. Kimberly Fenn of Michigan State University, an expert in the area of sleep deprivation and its effects on the actions and statements of the sleep-deprived, as an expert witness. The motion asks for a $2,500 retainer to be approved for Dr. Fenn, $3,000 be approved for DNA expert Dr. Michael Spence and for the interpreter to be given expert witness status and her previous claims for compensation be approved.
10/18/19 Update: Court documents filed Friday by prosecutors acknowledge that the initial Miranda warning given to Rivera around 11:30 p.m. on August 20th, 2018, failed to inform him that anything he said could be used against him in court. His Miranda rights were accurately read to him a second time at 5:50 a.m. August 21st, as police were in a cornfield where Tibbetts’ body was found. The state does argue in Friday’s filings that they should be able to use statements Rivera made between 11:30 p.m. and 5:50 a.m. to refute testimony. Defense lawyers say the statements should be fully suppressed.

 

[BUF]

Cathy Russon

@cathyrusson
·
16m

#MollieTibbetts hearing that was supposed to begin today is now postponed. There has been a death in the family of one of the attorneys.

 

[StarryStarryNight]

So his attorneys ARE trying to help him get away with murder. I can only imagine if he walks the high-fiving and champagne in their office. Perhaps afterward they can head to the cemetery to dance on Mollie’s grave.

 

[PommyMommy]

OCT 22, 2019
Hearing for man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts reset after family emergency
A judge reset a hearing, postponed early Tuesday, to Nov. 13 for the man charged with fatally stabbing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts.

[...]

Expert witnesses will testify, during next month’s hearing, about how sleep deprivation affects a person’s judgment and DNA. A court interpreter will also challenge the accuracy of the Spanish used by law enforcement and the translated transcript provided by the prosecution.

[...]

The prosecution’s motion also details how surveillance footage showed a jogger going northbound on Boundary Street where witnesses confirmed Tibbetts was jogging about that time on July 18, 2018. No other jogger was seen in the area during this time.

The same surveillance video showed a black Chevy Malibu with “distinct characteristics” going by multiple times in the minutes after Tibbetts jogged that route, according to court documents.

[...]

Authorities obtained written and verbal consent from Bahena Rivera in Spanish to search both the Malibu and his girlfriend’s vehicle, which was driving that day, according to the prosecution. The state crime lab analysis showed blood found on the inside seal and liner of the Malibu’s trunk belonged to Tibbetts.

Bahena Rivera, who wasn’t in custody, voluntarily talked with authorities at the sheriff’s office, according to court documents. He admitted that Tibbetts said “hi” to him during the multiple times he passed her jogging and said the woman “was hot.”

[...]

“He gradually shifted from a denial of killing Mollie to a claim that he ‘didn’t remember’ doing anything to her,” court documents show.

[...]

Bahena Rivera then asked to speak to one of the officers and he told her he remembered “fighting” with Tibbetts, putting her in the car, and there was blood, court documents show. He couldn’t “say if she was dead or alive” but also remembered putting Tibbetts in the cornfield.

[...]

After finding her body, an officer again read him the Miranda warning, complete this time, according to court documents. At that time, Bahena Rivera admitted to seeing Tibbetts jogging and he followed her. He then got out of his vehicle and jogged beside her. When Tibbetts threatened to call the police, it made him angry, he said.

He remembered being near a cornfield and covering the woman, who had blood on her head and body, with corn, according to court documents. Bahena Rivera refused to answer some questions, including how Tibbetts was killed. He said he didn’t remember.

[...]

 

[StarryStarryNight]

OCT 22, 2019
Hearing for man accused of killing Mollie Tibbetts reset after family emergency
A judge reset a hearing, postponed early Tuesday, to Nov. 13 for the man charged with fatally stabbing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts.

[...]

Expert witnesses will testify, during next month’s hearing, about how sleep deprivation affects a person’s judgment and DNA. A court interpreter will also challenge the accuracy of the Spanish used by law enforcement and the translated transcript provided by the prosecution.

[...]

The prosecution’s motion also details how surveillance footage showed a jogger going northbound on Boundary Street where witnesses confirmed Tibbetts was jogging about that time on July 18, 2018. No other jogger was seen in the area during this time.

The same surveillance video showed a black Chevy Malibu with “distinct characteristics” going by multiple times in the minutes after Tibbetts jogged that route, according to court documents.

[...]

Authorities obtained written and verbal consent from Bahena Rivera in Spanish to search both the Malibu and his girlfriend’s vehicle, which was driving that day, according to the prosecution. The state crime lab analysis showed blood found on the inside seal and liner of the Malibu’s trunk belonged to Tibbetts.

Bahena Rivera, who wasn’t in custody, voluntarily talked with authorities at the sheriff’s office, according to court documents. He admitted that Tibbetts said “hi” to him during the multiple times he passed her jogging and said the woman “was hot.”

[...]

“He gradually shifted from a denial of killing Mollie to a claim that he ‘didn’t remember’ doing anything to her,” court documents show.

[...]

Bahena Rivera then asked to speak to one of the officers and he told her he remembered “fighting” with Tibbetts, putting her in the car, and there was blood, court documents show. He couldn’t “say if she was dead or alive” but also remembered putting Tibbetts in the cornfield.

[...]

After finding her body, an officer again read him the Miranda warning, complete this time, according to court documents. At that time, Bahena Rivera admitted to seeing Tibbetts jogging and he followed her. He then got out of his vehicle and jogged beside her. When Tibbetts threatened to call the police, it made him angry, he said.

He remembered being near a cornfield and covering the woman, who had blood on her head and body, with corn, according to court documents. Bahena Rivera refused to answer some questions, including how Tibbetts was killed. He said he didn’t remember.

[...]

The key is the third part there. LE received verbal and written consent from him to search his car. In the trunk they found blood and it was her blood. There’s hope still.

 

[Simply Southern]

Not sure if this has been posted....

Evidence in Mollie Tibbetts murder is insurmountable, law enforcement source says

Defense attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera -- who has been charged with first-degree murder in Tibbetts' death -- argued that his rights were violated during his initial interview with investigators. The state has since indicated that some of Rivera's statements cannot be used at trial because his Miranda rights initially were not read to him in their entirety.

A judge is set to decide next month what evidence will be presented to jurors at the February trial of Rivera, 25, an illegal immigrant from Mexico accused of killing Tibbetts on July 18, 2018, after following the college student on her evening jog through the streets of her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa.

Whatever the outcome, the law enforcement source told Fox News there's an abundance of other damning evidence incriminating Rivera in Tibbetts' death. The statement echoed claims from the state in its most recent court filing. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation. The source did not elaborate on the evidence investigators had, but it has been reported that Tibbetts' blood was found in the trunk of Rivera's car.

 

[SharonNeedles]

Not sure if this has been posted....

Evidence in Mollie Tibbetts murder is insurmountable, law enforcement source says

Defense attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera -- who has been charged with first-degree murder in Tibbetts' death -- argued that his rights were violated during his initial interview with investigators. The state has since indicated that some of Rivera's statements cannot be used at trial because his Miranda rights initially were not read to him in their entirety.

A judge is set to decide next month what evidence will be presented to jurors at the February trial of Rivera, 25, an illegal immigrant from Mexico accused of killing Tibbetts on July 18, 2018, after following the college student on her evening jog through the streets of her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa.

Whatever the outcome, the law enforcement source told Fox News there's an abundance of other damning evidence incriminating Rivera in Tibbetts' death. The statement echoed claims from the state in its most recent court filing. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation. The source did not elaborate on the evidence investigators had, but it has been reported that Tibbetts' blood was found in the trunk of Rivera's car.

There’s no doubt that CR killed Mollie. None. We know that, the State knows that, his lawyers know that. The problem however - and it’s a big one - is that proving First Degree Murder in this case is going to be tricky even with all the facts as we know them. The State already has an uphill battle.

 

[Niner]

Thank you ALL for the updates!

 

[Seattle1]

Hearing delayed for man charged in killing of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts | Daily Mail Online

Oct 23, 2019

• University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts was killed in July 2018 - she was 20
• Mexican national Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who was in the U.S. illegally, is accused of murdering Tibbetts
• A law enforcement source close to the case said Tuesday that the evidence against Rivera is 'overwhelming'
• Prosecutors acknowledged last week that officers didn't read Rivera his rights during an interrogation before Tibbetts' body was recovered