• Mollie Tibbetts: Illegal alien farm worker gets life for murdering Iowa

    From But But Sanctuary Cities! Blue Wave@21:1/5 to All on Wed Jul 13 00:15:14 2022
    XPost: alt.fan.states.iowa, alt.politics.obama, sac.politics
    XPost: talk.politics.guns

    A farm worker has been sentenced to life in prison without the
    possibility of parole for the murder of student Mollie Tibbetts.

    Cristhian Bahena Rivera had been found guilty of her murder in
    May.

    The 20-year-old University of Iowa student disappeared after
    going out for a run near her home in July 2018.

    The case inflamed tensions over illegal immigration as 27-year-
    old Bahena Rivera was an undocumented Mexican migrant.

    Shortly after his arrest, then President Donald Trump blamed US
    immigration laws for Ms Tibbetts' death - prompting the
    student's family to plead with politicians not to use her death
    to "advance a cause she vehemently opposed".

    Her disappearance also sparked a nationwide discussion about the
    dangers women face when out running.

    Sentencing Rivera, Judge Joel Yates told him "you and you alone
    forever changed the lives of those who loved Mollie Tibbetts".

    Judge Yates had delayed sentencing in July to allow the defence
    to investigate two claims, made after the jury found him guilty,
    that suggested others may have been responsible for the killing.

    But earlier this month, he concluded the new information was
    unreliable and saw no reason to overturn the verdict.

    Defence lawyers say they plan to appeal.

    Prosecutors said Ms Tibbetts family were "relieved" and
    "pleased" with the sentence.

    Rivera was arrested a month after Ms Tibbetts went missing,
    after CCTV showed his car had repeatedly passed her as she was
    running on a rural road outside her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa.
    Her DNA was later found in his car.

    He told police that he had approached her because he found her
    attractive, got angry with her when she threatened to call 911,
    and then "blacked out".

    He said he when he regained consciousness, he found her bleeding
    in his vehicle's boot and buried her in a corn field, later
    leading police to the spot.

    During his trial, however, Rivera changed his story saying two
    masked men had kidnapped him and forced him to take part in the
    killing.

    Prosecutors dismissed this version, saying it was inconsistent
    with the evidence. He was unanimously found guilty by a 12-
    member jury.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-58390687

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