The defense team for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, rested its case Wednesday after a confession reversal from its client.
Bahena Rivera, 26, who previously confessed that he killed 20-year-old Tibbetts in a rage after approaching her during a run in 2018, claimed he was taking a shower the night of her death when two unknown men broke into his trailer demanding help. He was coerced into his previous confession, his defense team had said.
MURDER TRIAL OVER DEATH OF 20-YEAR-OLD MOLLIE TIBBETTS BEGINS
The suspect, who faces first-degree murder charges, alleged the two masked men, one with a knife and one with a gun, forced him to transport Tibbetts’s body in his car, where her blood was later found.
The men threatened his family to keep him silent about the murder, Bahena Rivera claimed.
Bahena Rivera pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
“When you put this evidence together, there can be no other conclusion than that the defendant killed Mollie Tibbetts,” said Poweshiek County Attorney Bart Klaver at the start of the trial.
The college student’s body was found in a cornfield with the same running shoes she had on from her jog, according to prosecutors.
Tibbetts was stabbed between seven and 12 times, and the blood matching her DNA was found in Bahena Rivera’s vehicle trunk.
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The trial began on May 19 and is expected to last about 10 days.
