116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Home / News / Crime and Courts
Mollie Tibbetts trial live: Prosecution rests in Cristhian Bahena Rivera murder trial
The Gazette
May. 24, 2021 8:30 am, Updated: May. 24, 2021 3:27 pm
The prosecution rested its case Monday afternoon after a fourth day of testimony in Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s murder trial. He is charged in the July 2018 slaying of Mollie Tibbetts.
Watch a replay of Monday’s livestream in the video player above. Come back to thegazette.com for more live coverage Tuesday morning, soon after jurors arrive at 8:30 a.m.
Video recap of first 3 days of testimony:
On Friday, jurors were shown photos of Mollie Tibbetts body. Tibbetts, 20, vanished while out running on July 18, 2018, in Brooklyn, Iowa, and investigators recovered her partially naked, decomposing body from a cornfield a month later.
Advertisement
Investigators also testified that Bahena Rivera led them to Tibbetts’ body, and a DNA analyst said blood found in the trunk of Bahena Rivera’s car was an exact match for Tibbetts.
Prosecutors have used the DNA evidence, surveillance video showing Bahena Rivera’s Chevy Malibu driving near where Tibbetts was running, and the suspect’s partial confession to build their case. The trial is expected to last through the end of this week.
Bahena Rivera, 26, faces life in prison if convicted of the stabbing death, which inflamed anger over illegal immigration since he was a Mexican national living illegally in the United States.
Read more:
• Day 3 testimony: Analyst: Blood in Bahena Rivera’s trunk came from Mollie Tibbetts
• Day 2 testimony: Officer: Bahena Rivera admitted killing Mollie Tibbetts
• Day 1 testimony: Tibbetts’ boyfriend denies role in her slaying
• Timeline: The disappearance and death of Mollie Tibbetts