Judge Denies Bahena-Rivera’s Request For New Murder Trial

The request for a new trial for the man convicted of killing Mollie Tibbetts has been denied. On Monday, a judge denied the request from the defense team of Christhan Bahena-Rivera. In May, he was convicted of killing Tibbetts in 2018 near Brooklyn, Iowa.

Investigators testified in the original trial, that Bahena- Rivera led them to the cornfield where they found the body of Mollie Tibbets. During the trial, Bahena-Rivera claimed two two men in masks kidnapped him at gunpoint and made him drive them to where Tibbetts was out jogging. He said, that one of the men then killed her and they put her body in the trunk of his car. He claimed the men threatened the life of his daughter, if he told anyone and that’s why he never came forward with that info.

Later, an inmate named Arne Maki came forward, saying another inmate named Gavin Jones told him, he and another man killed Tibbetts. The sentencing was then put on hold after that information came out. It was then determined that Gavin Jones was in a treatment facility when the murder occurred.

At a hearing last week, Bahena-Rivera’s attorneys asserted that Tibbetts death was connected to an alleged sex trafficking ring and a kidnapping incident reported in that same county.

Judge Joel Yates said he didn’t not see evidence of any connections. Bahena-Rivera is now scheduled to be sentenced August 30th.