Hunter
08/30/21
The man convicted of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts in the summer of 2018 will be sentenced this afternoon.
Christhian Bahena Rivera was convicted on May 28th for the July 18th murder of the woman, who was last seen jogging that day in Brooklyn Iowa. Her body was found on August 21st, 2018.
Bahena Rivera was to be sentenced in July before his attorneys filed motions to delay. They argued that new witnesses had come forward suggesting that someone else had confessed to killing Tibbetts.
Judge Joel Yates presided over the lengthy hearing on July 27th and ruled that the alibi alleging that Tibbets might have run afoul of an organized sex trafficking ring was speculative at best, and the theory contradicted Bahena’s testimony at his trial.
Sentencing is set for 1:30 pm today in Poweshiek County. He’s expected to get life in prison without the possibility of parole.
