Police were guided to the corpse by Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a farmworker who was accused of murdering her. Rivera discovered Tibbetts’ decaying body buried in a cornfield close by approximately one month after she reportedly went for an evening jog near her residence in Brooklyn, Iowa. This marked the beginning of the enigmatic vanishing of Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old.
Rivera was found guilty of first-degree murder in May 2021. He later buried her in a cornfield. After regaining consciousness, she only regained consciousness and discovered her bleeding in his car’s trunk. He confessed to the murder, claiming that he pursued her when she threatened to call 911 and blacked out.
Scheduled to document the 2018 killing of Mollie Tibbetts, which resulted from “several penetrating wounds,” the forthcoming installment of Taking the Stand. The official summary of the episode declares:.
The brand new episode, named Cristhian Bahena Rivera, will be broadcasted on A&E at 10 pm ET on February 16, 2023.
1) Mollie disappeared while on an evening run in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa
Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old student at Iowa University who ran track in high school and disappeared mysteriously in July 2018, failed to show up at the daycare where she worked for a summer job. She was missing the day after failing to show up, after leaving her house to go on an evening jog.
Her disappearance from the small town after a widely publicized search, which was joined by local, state, and federal officials as well as hundreds of volunteers, near her boyfriend’s house, where she had been staying to watch his dogs while he was gone, according to WQAD, was immediately deemed unusual.
2) Officials made a significant discovery in the Mollie Tibbetts case after one month
After almost a month had passed, investigators made a significant development in the case of Mollie’s vanishing when they obtained surveillance footage from a resident. The footage briefly showed what appeared to be Tibbetts running in the distance, as reported by the investigators. Approximately 20 seconds later, a black Chevy Malibu with silver mirrors and door handles was seen driving by, and it returned multiple times within the next 20 minutes, moving back and forth.
He was arrested shortly. She considered herself attractive because she noticed him turning around and jogging while Mollie Tibbetts drove past, claiming that he worked at a nearby dairy farm where Bahena, a farm worker driving a similar car, was recognized by a deputy sheriff the following day.
3) Cristhian Bahena Rivera ultimately admitted to approaching the 20-year-old
He recollected driving with her bloodied corpse in the trunk of his vehicle, but only after experiencing a sudden loss of consciousness. He asserted that he engaged in a struggle with her after she attempted to escape and made threats to contact the authorities. Eventually, Cristhian Bahen Rivera admitted that he approached Mollie Tibbetts while she was out for a jog that evening.
After confessing, the suspect alleged that the motive behind Tibbetts’ death was sexual. Her body was found decomposed under corn stalks in a remote cornfield where authorities were led. An autopsy confirmed her identity and determined that her death was a “homicide” caused by multiple sharp force injuries. She was found wearing only a sports bra and socks, with her legs spread apart.
4) Cristhian Bahena Rivera subsequently stated that two individuals wearing masks coerced him into murdering the 20-year-old.
In a highly charged testimony, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 26-year-old individual, denied his prior admissions and declarations regarding the killing of Tibbetts. Nevertheless, although the weapon used in the murder was never located, DNA analysis uncovered the presence of Mollie Tibbetts’ blood in the trunk of the Malibu that the defendant was operating.
Instead, Rivera completely changed his story and asserted that two masked men took him at gunpoint from his rural home trailer, forced him to drive them towards a cornfield where he disposed of her body, and testified that he saw the men directed towards him on a rural road while he killed Tibbetts.
5) Cristhian Bahena Rivera was convicted in the killing of Mollie Tibbetts
However, Jack stated that he was out of town for work when she went missing. At the time of the police clearance, it was revealed that Jack was having an affair. There is a theory in Rivera’s defense case that suggests the two masked men may have been the boyfriend’s victim.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, in May 2021, after a delayed trial for the first-degree murder of Tibbetts, Cristhian Rivera Bahena was convicted by a jury.