Cristhian Bahena Rivera convicted of the murder of Mollie Tibbetts

Undocumented man confessed to murdering Mollie Tibbetts 1:15

(CNN) -

A farm worker was sentenced to life in prison without parole for first-degree murder in the kidnapping and fatal stabbing of college student Mollie Tibbetts in July 2018.

The sentence comes just over three years later. that the body of the 20-year-old woman was found in an Iowa cornfield.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera speaks with a court interpreter during his trial on May 26, 2021.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 27-year-old undocumented immigrant from Mexico, admitted in an interview with police in August 2018 that he followed Tibbetts as she went for a night run, got angry with her and "lost consciousness," according to one arrest affidavit and testimony at trial.

Bahena said she later came to and realized she was bleeding in the trunk of her vehicle and then buried her in a remote Iowa cornfield, prosecutors said.

Rivera then led police to the cornfield, where investigators found his body with fatal stab wounds, according to prosecutors.

"Mr. Rivera, I have selected this particular sentence for you after considering the nature of the crime you committed, the harm to the victim and the victim's family, your need for rehabilitation, and the need to protect the community from further crime by you and others, "Judge Joel Yates said at sentencing.

After Rivera was convicted, prosecutor Scott Brown said the Tibbetts family was "relieved" and "satisfied" with the decision.

"The family, and other people who are so close to it, live with it forever," Brown said of the tragedy.

"We hope that in the end ... when these cases are over, we can bring a sense of justice to them, even though we would never have the ability to bring Mollie back."

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Tibbetts disappeared after jogging

Tibbetts disappeared after jogging in Brooklyn, Iowa, sparking an extensive search that garnered national attention.

Tibbetts was studying psychology at the University of Iowa and wanted to get a doctorate and write books, her father said.

Rivera, for his part, had worked for four years at Yarrabee Farms, a nearby dairy farm.

His death and Rivera's undocumented status pushed the tragic story into the rancorous partisan political debate around immigration.

Former President Donald Trump brought up his story as part of his push to label undocumented immigrants as rapists and murderers, even though existing evidence shows that undocumented status does not correlate with criminality.

• Mollie Tibbetts Father: Don't Use My Daughter's Death To Promote "Racist" Messages

Rob Tibbetts, Mollie's father, has repeatedly called on politicians to stop using his daughter's death as a point against immigration, saying she believed these views were "deeply racist."

Surprise testimony about masked men

The Prosecutor's Office based his case on three key aspects: the surveillance video of Rivera's vehicle near Tibbetts, his confession to investigators in August 2018 and her DNA found in his trunk.

"When this evidence is put together, there can be no other conclusion than that the defendant killed Mollie Tibbetts," Poweshiek County Prosecutor Bart Klaver said at the start of the trial.

After more than a month of searching, the turning point in the case came when surveillance video came to light of a house on the night of July 18, 2018, showing the silhouette of a woman running, as well as repeated sightings of a black Chevy Malibu, prosecutors said.

An investigator later saw the vehicle and identified the driver as Rivera, Klaver said.

After initially denying knowing about Tibbetts, he admitted that he had seen her the night she disappeared, said he found her attractive and said he turned around for a second look, Klaver told the jury.

He allegedly admitted that he had followed Tibbetts and jogged alongside her.

She had threatened to call the police, and Rivera admitted that he got angry and got into a fight with her, Klaver told the court.

"The next thing he remembers" is that he was driving and realized that Tibbetts was in his trunk, Klaver said.

Rivera allegedly admitted that he pulled her bloody body out of the trunk, carried her into a field and placed corn stalks on her body, according to Klaver.

He then led investigators to the scene, where his body was found hidden under corn stalks, according to the prosecution.

• Mollie Tibbetts murder: undocumented man carried body and faces murder charges

Although Rivera did not explicitly tell investigators that he stabbed Tibbetts, prosecutors said that was the only conclusion.

"He says he passed out. He didn't pass out. He just didn't tell (an investigator)," Brown said Thursday.

"He is saying to the officers, by making those statements, 'I killed Mollie Tibbetts.' That is what he is saying. That is what all the statements are pointing to," he added.

However, Bahena Rivera's testimony in her own defense strongly contradicted her previous statements.

Bahena Rivera testified that she was taking a shower when two unknown masked men broke into her caravan and demanded her help.

One had a knife and the other a gun, he said.

He testified that they broke into his black Chevy Malibu and told him to drive into town.

It was then that he said that they met a young woman who he now knows is Tibbetts.

Bahena Rivera testified that she was told to stop while the man with the knife got out of the car.

He claimed that both men got out of the vehicle and that he heard them open and close the trunk.

When the men left, he said he found Tibbetts' body in the trunk of the car.

Bahena Rivera said she took her body out of the trunk, placed it in a cornfield and covered her body with corn stalks.

Bahena Rivera said she did not know why the men were seeking her help.

He stated that he falsely confessed to the police because he feared the men would harm his daughter and ex-girlfriend and because he thought it would help him if he told investigators what they wanted to hear.

- Ray Sanchez and Carma Hassan contributed to this report.

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