An Iowa jury found Cristhian Bahena Rivera guilty of first-degree murder on Friday in the 2018 death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts.
The 26-year-old Mexican national was accused of following Tibbetts in Brooklyn, Iowa, while she was on a run, stabbing her to death, and abandoning her body in a cornfield.
The trial began on May 17, and after jury selection and testimony, the jury in Davenport held deliberations for hours on Thursday and Friday before reaching their verdict.
Rivera, who had pleaded not guilty, now faces a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole, which is what Iowa law dictates for the crime of first-degree murder. He will remain in state custody until sentencing, set for July 15 by District Court Judge Joel Yates.
Rivera’s attorneys said they plan to appeal, among other legal action, according to KCCI, a local CBS affiliate.
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Tibbetts was reported missing in July 2018, and her remains were located the next month in a cornfield. Investigators said home surveillance video from the night of July 18, 2018, shows the silhouette of an individual running and a Chevy Malibu with certain nonstandard features.
Rivera, who was charged with murdering Tibbetts in August 2018, allegedly admitted to a Spanish-speaking officer that he was the only one who drove the vehicle. He initially denied knowing about her but then later said he saw her on the night of her disappearance, found her attractive, and circled around to see her again.
“He admits taking Mollie’s body out of the trunk. He admits seeing blood on Mollie’s body and neck,” Poweshiek County Attorney Bart Klaver said in his opening argument in the case on May 19, according to Radio Iowa. “He admits putting Mollie over his shoulder. He admitted taking Mollie into the field, placing her face up and putting corn stalks on her body and then leaving.”
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“Ladies and gentlemen, when you examine this evidence together, there can be no other conclusion than that the defendant killed Mollie Tibbetts,” he added.
Rivera came to the United States illegally and worked at a dairy farm, according to officials.
