IA - Mollie Tibbetts, 20, Poweshiek County, 19 Jul 2018 *Arrest* #36

[Jazzy5980]

Question - they say it's premeditated. I looked up Iowa's statute and didn't see a detailed definition of that (my understanding is that some states define that differently...or at least, that it doesn't necessarily mean planned over time). Is this charge (likely) based on his story so far, despite the huge gap and lack of info on what he actually did, or might it also include what they saw when they found her? Or other evidence. I'm asking because I would hate to see a lesser charge and I wonder what they have to do to hang onto their first degree in the face of a defense that he didn't intend her death and then got scared or had a lights out moment or whatever.

Felony murder rule; defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree if he/she kills another while participating in a forcible felony. IA 707.2(1)(b) Kidnapping is as a forcible felony in IA.

 

[Jealoushe]

I really feel for Mollie, she lived a terrible last bit of her life.

 

[SharonNeedles]

I'm not saying I believe him for a second, but alcoholics do have blackouts and do sometimes drive cars and act crazy while having them. I have personal experience with two people I knew who did both things.
Was he known to be an alcoholic? If not, then what type of blackout could he have had, if he actually had a blackout?

I just re-read the arrest warrant. It does not say “black out”. It says he claims to “block out” the memory. I don’t believe it for a second, but that’s distinctively different from having a blackout.

 

[NewYork625]

I think we can rule out alcohol related because according to his own words (per affidavit) he was lucid, lucid, lucid, then blackout, then lucid. Within a few hour time frame. I think he is claiming more of a rage or psychological blackout.

The people I knew did sleep afterwords and the next morning had no memory of what they had said or done.

 

[SheriBerry]

It's anyone's guess on what the truth actually is, Based on the map I am leaning towards he got her in the car either by force or talking her into it. Can't figure out the phone unless he knocked it out of her hand and broke it. I don't see him blacking out and driving past his own house so something could have happened there. And who knows when she was placed in the corn field.

So to get to the cornfield where Mollie was found, he would have had to of driven past his house?

 

[Pixie Dust]

We probably won’t hear much more on the autopsy



Autopsy reports are confidential under Iowa law, except for the cause and manner of death. (Iowa Code § 22.7(4)(c)).


Iowa courts have established rules limiting the release of information regarding an individual who has been criminally charged in a state court.

The rules are designed to protect a defendant’s interests in a fair trial that could be affected by media attention to the facts in the case.

Court proceedings are open to the public, in almost all circumstances, and those formal proceedings are the primary method for communicating information about the case.



Mollie Tibbetts' death resulted from 'multiple sharp force injuries' says medical examiner

According to the ME's website, autopsy reports are given to immediate family members. Not that they would or should, but Mollie's family would likely be the only source of more information (until court, of course).

https://www.iosme.iowa.gov/document/family-request-autopsy-report

 

[Flowercb]

"The body found on Tuesday in rural Poweshiek County has now been positively identified as Tibbetts. Her cause of death is listed as “multiple sharp force injuries.” Further autopsy results are still pending."

Mollie Tibbetts Killed by “Multiple Sharp Force Injuries”

I wonder if he used a rock.

 

[ExpectingUnicorns]

It is beyond my comprehension how the father of a daughter himself, can terrorize, debase, or harm anyone else's daughter, let alone take their life.
I pray that Mollie was the real person who "blacked/blocked out" everything that happened! From her very own testimony that we have shared here, we know she has been walking on the path to Heaven long before this horror began. I pray that she was enveloped in the loving arms that she sought long before the shock set in. God bless her parents, family, and loved ones.
. . . . and us, too.

 

[spiritkiss]

The guy is lying. In my opinion only I think the following is most likely...He stalked her in his vehicle 1st, then found the best vantage point and place to park and confront her where it was the most shielded from people, traffic. He had to act fast for a vehicle to not pass on the roadway and not to have any witnesses, which there wasnt. I believe the guy got out of his car, ran up behind her, possibly even trying to grab her, she broke loose said she was attempting to call the police and she ran as fast as she could. He caught her and instead of having a struggling screaming victim that would draw attention he knocks her out. That scenario makes sense with his one sided story and a person that plans to abduct there victim. Brings her to his car and throws her in the trunk. Drives her directly to the place he already decided on and victimizes her there. Then either killed her by blunt force trauma to the head again or strangled her. He probably strangled her or both.


How did he know she wouldn't wake up and start screaming in the trunk and after he opened it? There are farms on that street she was found on She wasn't knocked out the whole time unless he cracked her skull on the pavement/already had a object to hit her in the head when he got out of his car or did some severe damage on the street pavement. He may have brought her to a secondary spot where her screams wouldn't be heard victimized killed her then dumped her in the 3rd spot the cornfield. Or killed her emed and then assaulted her. This guy is lying in my opinion. Mollie didn't seem like the type to be rude out of know where to a fellow jogger to enrage him enough to want to kill her. So bull on that. If she called the police for any reason he would be deported as well. He knew that. But he had to have attacked her, tried to abduct her for her to react the way she did. to flee for her life. Had to be some definite moves towards her right away for her to believe he meant her harm. If it was a vauge feeling of danger women play it cool to wait for a way out, to keep it calm. I think she knew right away it was life threatening. He is blaming someone or something else on his behavior. She made him mad, he blacked out doesn't remember. His story is preplanned and to give a lawyer a way out of a murder charge. When a person goes into a angry rage, they do know what they did. They do not forget it. They have a hard time controlling themselves but they remember what they did. They do not black out. Again this is just my opinion of the scenario I feel would make sense with what we already know. We will see what the autopsy says. I already said I thought it was a blitz attack by a stranger and he murdered her quickly in a post week or two ago. Just because your on facebook in the friends list doesn't make you a friend and may not even mean that she knew him at all. Some people have a thousand people on there friends list but they do not know them and I consider them a stranger.

 

[chihuahua]

In my sad opinion, if this was a true lust-induced crime, or a combination of lust and the desire to simply slaughter someone, then there is always the "fainting" type of blacking out. After the evil act is done, the killer doesn't actually pass out.
Instead the killer relishes the act and enjoys an "afterglow".
He's a liar. He hid her body. He doesn't have a leg to stand on.
I am not only interested in similar acts in his past, but also who saw him after Mollie's murder. I mean in the hour or so after.
Someone else must know something. The account (don't have a link handy) of his baby's mom saying he acted "odd...didn't want to talk about the MT case" is enough to make me curious.
I am not pointing a finger of suspicion at anyone other than him.
It just makes me wonder how he accomplished this brutal thing.
He likely was soaked in blood. Carwash? I can see that. But did he burn his clothes?
I am hoping and downright praying that there is a trove of evidence at that scene.
We probably won't know about much of it on MSM until discovery if this goes to trial.
Arrrgggh I just cannot believe we have a Morgan Harrington type thing again. I just mean an innocent young woman out to do her own thing and picked up by a ruthless brute.
She was only bones of course, but I am so holding out for more in Mollie's case. We won't rest until she gets justice.
I too have to take a break before I say things I don't want to say or cause a ruckus.
OMG how could he? Happens to someone's child somewhere every single day. Been there. Seen it.
It just won't ever stop while we are in control, IMO. And I mean all of us. Sure we want truth and justice and an end to senseless death.
I just take my share as a human being that we are broken in so many ways. Just like with Morgan, Hannah, Caylee, Lucas and now Mollie, why?
Why does the collective DNA spawn this?
---shake my head...out for now---
Sorry to you also DJ.

 

[jillycat]

Until I am proven wrong, I believe this man had a pattern of abducting women and killing them. Possibly a serial killer. LE stated he was calm and cooperative. So was the BTK. Cause of death just doesn’t match up with this being a spur of the moment crime. I think we will learn he had come onto Mollie before and she had rejected him. DNA tests should be done immediately to possibly match him to others who are missing or have been found murdered.

As far as his gf, she should be glad he is locked up.

The opportunistic killer of two women in my city confessed and breezily referred to when he "stuck her" re: one of the victims. They were both sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times. These people can be cool as cucumbers because they don't have a shred of empathy or conscience. And they can see someone as an easy mark and just react on a dime. I think it's entirely plausible that he saw her and that was the moment he decided to grab her.

 

[Al Hoffman]

The max in Iowa is life without parole, no death penalty state.

Which is why I brought up possible Federal charges which could carry a death penalty. CR has committed a rash of federal offences (ID fraud, identity theft, payroll fraud), to the point that bootstrapping and linkage by the Feds could put pressure on defence to accept a guilty plea of life without parole, to avoid Federal intervention.

 

[The Farm]

As far as what did his roomates or his baby mama see when he arrived home I doubt anyone will say anything. Only time will tell but I doubt it. Whether he came in wet or with blood.

 

[SharonNeedles]

Someone of his profile would likely have a variety of types of weapons in the car in different areas, incl. but not limited to under driver's seat, glovebox, trunk, & on him; pocket, sock even. Rope & tape wouldn't be a surprise, either. Zip ties. This is not someone like you or me. Violence is their game, so they're gonna think ahead how best to win that game. Tools of the trade handy. MOO

To be fair tho, I have most of those things in my car too. You wouldn’t believe how many of these tools and supplies come in handy when setting up for softball tournaments.

 

[Flowercb]

Blunt force vs Sharp force

Blunt force and sharp force injuries

Forensic Autopsy of Sharp Force Injuries: Overview, Definitions, Scene Findings

ouch!

 

[MassGuy]

Until I am proven wrong, I believe this man had a pattern of abducting women and killing them. Possibly a serial killer. LE stated he was calm and cooperative. So was the BTK. Cause of death just doesn’t match up with this being a spur of the moment crime. I think we will learn he had come onto Mollie before and she had rejected him. DNA tests should be done immediately to possibly match him to others who are missing or have been found murdered.

As far as his gf, she should be glad he is locked up.

The evidence, as we know it, seems to indicate a spur of the moment, disorganized, blitz-style attack from an unrefined, and thus, inexperienced killer.

This crime fits the pattern of many sexually motivated killings, where the victim is attacked, (possibly) sexually assaulted, and murdered within a short period of time. There are countless recent cases, committed in much the same way.

BTK was an intelligent, and organized serial killer. This guy is neither intelligent, nor organized. I highly doubt he’s done this before, but it needs to be investigated.

 

[sripey]

Because I don't believe a word the perp says, I keep wondering if her body was truly there on that first night. I also wouldn't be surprised if he put her there much later- days or even weeks. It's not as cut and dry as he says, that's for certain. I just have this feeling she wasn't put there that night. MOO

I think it's pretty likely he put her there the first night. It's very rare for someone to keep a body for very long. To much of a chance to be discovered. And we know that she was dead for a long time due to decomposition. She was not positively ID until today.

 

[otto]

I think we can rule out alcohol related because according to his own words (per affidavit) he was lucid, lucid, lucid, then blackout, then lucid. Within a few hour time frame. I think he is claiming more of a rage or psychological blackout.

He is claiming that Mollie threatened to call police and then he had a black-out. He is blaming the victim for the fact that he murdered her.

 

[Joe Friday]

I wonder if he used a rock.

Sharp force wounds would be stab wounds from an instrument such as a knife.

 

[Inthedetails]

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