PROSECUTOR DEMANDS MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE CHARGES

Prosecutor Scott Brown’s closing arguments in Rivera’s trial for the murder of Mollie Tibbett are as follows:

“Looking at everything we have, all of the circumstances, the truth here is overwhelming … the defendant murdered Mollie Tibbetts on July 18 of 2018.

“Justice, in this case, ladies and gentleman, is a verdict of murder in the first degree.”

EVIDENCE ON RIVERA’S MALIBU

There was blood found on Rivera’s Malibu that was confirmed to belong to Mollie Tibbetts.

Regarding Rivera’s story that two men made him kill Tibbetts, Prosecutor Brown said that his Malibu was not involved in that story.

Brown also mentioned that Rivera had time to clean his car after the crime was committed, meaning there could have been more blood to begin with.

BROWN IDENTIFIES A MOTIVE FOR RIVERA

Prosecutor Scott Brown indentified a motive for Rivera during his trial for the death of Mollie Tibbetts.

“She’s a cute 20-year-old woman. He likes her. She’s wearing tight clothing … as she was jogging down the road, that’s what got his attention,” he said.

“If not the defendant, who had the motive to kill Mollie Tibbetts? Anger’s a pretty good one. Anger’s one of the oldest motives in history,” Brown said.

“Why is he angry? She has rebuked him. Mollie had threatened to call the police. The way he reacts to that anger is to stab this woman to death and dump her body in a cornfield.”

WITNESS CONFIRMS DALTON JACK’S ALIBI

Police already scratched the idea of Jack being a suspect after establishing he had an alibi while working out of town on the day she was suspected of being killed.

Dalton’s supervisor at work, Nick Wilson, testified that Jack was in Davenport at the time of the crime.

PROSECUTOR SCOTT BROWN CLOSING ARGUMENTS

Prosecutor Scott Brown reminded the jury of crucial evidence in the death of Mollie Tibbetts during Rivera’s trial on Thursday.

“She was attacked brutally by him, stabbed repeatedly by him. Can you imagine what that was like for her?” Brown asked the jury.

“The evidence in this case shows that the defendant, and only the defendant murdered Mollie Tibbetts,” Brown said. “There weren’t two other guys. That’s a figment of his imagination.”

WHAT IS DALTON JACK’S ALIBI?

Rivera’s attorneys have tried to arouse questions about Tibbett’s boyfriend Dalton Jack.

Jack, 23, now an Army sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, admitted he cheated on Tibbetts once in the past. 

“I was 19 years old, it was the beginning of our relationship, I screwed up one time. Mollie knew about it and we got past it,” Jack said under questioning during the trial.

Police already scratched the idea of Jack being a suspect after establishing he had an alibi while working out of town on the day she was suspected of being killed.

Mollie, who was studying psychology, was reportedly housesitting for Jack and his older brother Blake as they were out of town on separate construction jobs.

ATTORNEYS AROUSE QUESTIONS ABOUT MOLLIE’S BOYFRIEND

Rivera’s attorneys have tried to arouse questions about Tibbett’s boyfriend Dalton Jack.

Jack, 23, now an Army sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, admitted he cheated on Tibbetts once in the past. 

“I was 19 years old, it was the beginning of our relationship, I screwed up one time. Mollie knew about it and we got past it,” Jack said under questioning during the trial.

DOES RIVERA CLAIM TO KNOW THE MEN WHO FORCED HIM TO KILL JOGGER?

During his shocking testimony inside a courtroom at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Rivera explained how the monstrous pair ordered him into his car and to drive, according to the Associated Press. 

While on the road, Rivera said the men spotted Tibbets jogging and he said they directed him to hit the brakes, the AP reported.

After stopping, Rivera recalled how one of the men exited the car wielding a knife and headed down the rural road. 

About 10 minutes elapsed before the second masked man lost his nerve waiting in the car and allegedly said, “Come on, Jack,” the accused said during the court hearing.

Rivera claimed the two men were complete strangers.

WHAT SENTENCE DOES RIVERA FACE?

The MAN on trial for the savage murder of Mollie Tibbetts testified that two armed men wearing masks forced him at gunpoint to aid in ending her life.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera claimed two men wearing stocking caps showed up at his trailer home after he had finished showering and ordered him to drive them in his car.

The 26-year-old Mexican national who came illegally to the US as a teen, was called by the defense to testify on his own behalf as he stands accused of murdering the University of Iowa student in 2018 and dumping her slashed body in a remote cornfield.

If convicted, Rivera faces life in prison.

RIVERA CLAIMS TWO MEN FORCED HIM TO KILL JOGGER

Cristhian Bahena Rivera claimed two men wearing stocking caps showed up at his trailer home after he had finished showering and ordered him to drive them in his car.

During his shocking testimony inside a courtroom at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Rivera explained how the monstrous pair ordered him into his car and to drive, according to the Associated Press. 

While on the road, Rivera said the men spotted Tibbets jogging and he said they directed him to hit the brakes, the AP reported.

After stopping, Rivera recalled how one of the men exited the car wielding a knife and headed down the rural road. 

About 10 minutes elapsed before the second masked man lost his nerve waiting in the car and allegedly said, “Come on, Jack,” the accused said during the court hearing.

RIVERA SAID HE WAS NOT TRUTHFUL WHEN HE WAS QUESTIONED

Bahena Rivera said he wasn’t truthful when detectives began questioning him about Tibbetts’ disappearance on August 20 2018 because he was worried about his daughter’s safety.

Back then, he said he had approached Tibbetts as she ran, fought with her after she threatened to call police and then “blacked out” before hiding her body.

He said he agreed to lead investigators to Tibbetts’ body early the next day because he was tired and wanted the interrogation to end.

And he said police had urged him to “put myself in the family’s position and to think of” how he would feel if his daughter was missing.

‘COVERED BODY IN STALKS’

Rivera said he opened the trunk a few minutes later and found Tibbetts’ body, which he said was heavy as he carried it to the cornfield.

He said he covered her body with corn stalks because “I didn’t want her to be too exposed to the sun,” and that he then left and never planned to discuss what had happened again.

Bahena Rivera said he left Tibbetts’ phone, Fitbit and earbuds on the side of the road.

‘MEN LOADED SOMETHING IN MY TRUNK,’ RIVERA CLAIMED

Bahena Rivera said the men loaded something into his trunk, directed him to drive several miles to a rural area, turn off the car, wait a few minutes and leave.

They said they knew his ex-girlfriend and young daughter, and that they would harm them if he ever told anyone what happened, he said.

Bahena Rivera said the men took off on foot down the road and he never saw them again.

‘ONE OF THE MASKED MEN SAID “COME ON JACK”,’ RIVERA CLAIMED

Bahena Rivera, 26, said a man with a knife got out of the car and walked down the rural road.

The man was gone for about 10 minutes as the second man in the back seat of the car grew nervous, saying, “Come on, Jack,” he claimed.

The defendant said he didn’t know the men’s identities, but his lawyers have tried to raise suspicions about Tibbetts’ boyfriend, Dalton Jack, who admitted to an affair with another woman and past anger problems.

Police said they cleared Jack as a suspect after establishing he was out of town for work that day.

‘ARMED MEN WHO HAD FACES COVERED WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR CRIME’

Bahena Rivera said two armed men who were wearing black and had their faces covered by stocking caps showed up at his trailer after he finished showering that evening.

The men directed him to get in his car and drive, and they passed Tibbetts as she ran several times before directing him to stop, he said.

Bahena Rivera, 26, said a man with a knife got out of the car and walked down the rural road.

‘BODY ENDED UP IN HIS CAR’

While Rivera took to the stand yesterday, he acknowledged that Tibbetts ended up in his car’s trunk, that he hid her body in a cornfield and that he told investigators where to find it a month later.

But the farm laborer presented a far different narrative about what happened than prosecutors did, denying that he was responsible for the stab wounds to Tibbetts’ head, neck and chest that caused her death.

SUSPECT BLAMED MYSTERY MEN FOR RUNNER’S SLAYING

The man on trial for the 2018 abduction and stabbing death of a University of Iowa student claimed for the first time on Wednesday that two masked men were responsible for the crime but forced him to take part at gunpoint.

In a surprise development, the defense called Cristhian Bahena Rivera as a witness at his first-degree murder trial.

He admitted that his black car was the one seen on surveillance video circling Mollie Tibbetts while she was jogging in Brooklyn, Iowa, on July 18, 2018.

JURORS MAKING DECISION

Just before 2pm ET, jurors were sent off to lunch and then to start deliberating the case.

It is unclear how long the jury will take to make a decision on Rivera’s fate.

Judge Joel Yates told the court room: “Understand that we may need you back to join in the deliberations.”

CLOSING ARGUMENTS REVEALED

The closing arguments on the Mollie Tibbetts case were made on Thursday morning.

“Mollie’s no longer on this planet because of the defendant,” Prosecutor Scott Brown said.

He added that he believes Cristhian Rivera is guilty and that is the only decision jurors should make.

WHERE DID MOLLIE TIBBETTS GO TO SCHOOL?

Mollie Tibbetts, 20, was a college student at the University of Iowa, majoring in psychology.

She worked at a children’s day camp at Grinnell Regional Medical Center and was preparing for her sophomore year in college when she disappeared.

Her goal was reportedly to become a child psychologist.

WHO ARE MOLLIE TIBBETT’S PARENTS?

Mollie Tibbetts’ parents are Rob Tibbetts and Laura Calderwood.

Her parents have two sons, Scott and Jake Tibbetts, as well.

Mollie went missing during her routine jog in Brooklyn, Iowa on July 18, 2018.

RIVERA ALLEGEDLY THOUGHT TIBBETTS WAS ‘HOT’

Cristhian Bahena Rivera denied he had ever seen Mollie Tibbetts when he was first interrogated a month after her disappearance from her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, officer Pamela Romero testified.

Bahena Rivera eventually admitted that he had driven past Tibbetts three times while she was jogging on July 18, 2018, and described her as “attractive” and “hot,” Romero said.

MOLLIE TIBBETTS BOYFRIEND DESCRIBED HER AS ‘HAPPY’

Mollie’s boyfriend, Dalton Jack, 23, now an Army sergeant stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, testified that he met Tibbetts at high school and had been dating her for three years when she was killed.

He described her as “happy, bubbly, goofy,” saying she liked to have fun and that she went jogging most days before her death.

MOLLIE’S AUNT DOESN’T WANT ‘RACISM AND HATE’ BROUGHT INTO HER DEATH

Mollie Tibbetts’ aunt asked the public on social media not to turn her murder and “movement” into “something ugly”.

Billie Jo Calderwood wrote on Facebook: “Please remember, Evil comes in EVERY color.

“Our family has been blessed to be surrounded by love, friendship and support throughout this entire ordeal by friends from all different nations and races.”

She also reposted another sentiment that read, “Please do not compound the atrocity of what happened to her by adding racism and hate to the equation. …”

“Do not turn #molliesmovement into something ugly.”

RIVERA ALLEGEDLY LED AUTHORITIES TO MOLLIE TIBBETTS’ BODY

Investigators say Cristhian Bahena Rivera led them to the cornfield where Mollie Tibbetts’ body was found in the early morning of Aug 21, 2018.

He said he didn’t remember how he killed Tibbetts but that he hid her bloody body in the field underneath cornstalks, former officer Pamela Romero testified in court.