By David K. Li - NBC News
There can be "no other conclusion" than that a farm worker
fatally stabbed a
University of Iowa
student
and dumped her body into a cornfield, a prosecutor told jurors Wednesday.
Almost three years have passed since the murder
of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts and Poweshiek County Prosecutor Bart Klaver said all evidence points to the defendant, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, as the perpetrator of the crime in July 2018.
"Ladies and gentlemen, when you look at this evidence together, there can be no other conclusion that the defendant killed Mollie Tibbetts," Klaver told jurors in Davenport.
"And
I will ask them to issue a verdict
, the only verdict that justice demands, to find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree."
Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, during his appearance in which he pleaded not guilty to the charge of first degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts on September 19, 2018.
[They confirm that the body found in a truck belongs to Erica Hernández, the mother who disappeared in Houston]
In a brief opening statement, Klaver said sheriff investigators
linked Rivera to Tibbetts through a
security
video
that allegedly showed his black Chevy Malibu, with chrome handles and mirrors, advancing alongside the victim as he jogged through Brooklyn, Iowa, where she was taking care of a house.
Rivera admitted seeing Tibbetts, finding her pretty, approaching her and getting into a struggle before taking her body to a cornfield, according to the prosecutor.
He allegedly
led investigators to a cornfield
near the Poweshiek-Iowa county line, where Tibbetts' decomposed body was found.
Gun violence doubles in New York.
More than 500 people have been shot in 2021
May 10, 202101: 43
Tibbetts
had been stabbed seven to 12 times
in the chest, ribs, neck and skull, according to the indictment.
"He remembered
Mollie being in the trunk
, his admission of taking the bloody body out of the trunk, putting her on his shoulder, carrying her to the field and leaving her there, covering her with corn stalks," Klaver said.
[Boxer Félix Verdejo surrenders after the discovery of the body of his ex-girlfriend, Keisha Rodríguez, who had been missing for days in Puerto Rico]
Tibbetts was looking after the home of Blake Jack, the older brother of her boyfriend, Dalton Jack.
During questioning, defense attorney Jennifer Frese asked Blake Jack, the prosecutor's first witness, if her brother
had anger issues
or if he had ever cheated on Tibbetts.
Blake Jack denied that his brother had anger problems and said that he is not aware of any jealousy problems between them: "Not that I know of. No. But I'm sure he would not be the first 18-year-old to cheat on his girlfriend. ".
The case against Rivera, who is a Mexican immigrant,
attracted national attention
after former President Donald Trump claimed that the tragedy was made possible by immigration laws.
[Young soldier Juan Muñoz found dead in a canyon on the Rio Grande in New Mexico]
Rivera, 26, wore headphones in court Wednesday to listen to proceedings through a Spanish-speaking interpreter.
His defense attorney declined to make an opening statement, opting to speak to jurors at the end of the case.
Rivera has pleaded not guilty
.