AP POOL
Cristhian Bahena Rivera, center, stands with his attorney Jennifer Frese, right, as he listens as the verdict is announced in his trial, Friday, May 28, 2021, at the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport, Iowa. A jury on Friday found Cristhian Bahena Rivera guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who vanished while out for a run in 2018. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, pool)
The sentencing of the man convicted of the 2018 killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts has been delayed, after his attorneys requested more time to review new evidence in the case. Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s lawyers say new witnesses have come forward with information that casts doubt on his conviction and argue their client deserves a new trial.
Des Moines Register
DES MOINES, Iowa The judge overseeing the case of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, convicted in May of murdering University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, has delayed his sentencing after defense lawyers filed new motions claiming the state withheld relevant information about the case.
On Tuesday, his attorneys filed another motion alleging that prosecutors had failed to disclose another investigation in the summer of 2018, when Tibbetts disappeared, into a man living less than 30 miles from Tibbetts hometown of Brooklyn who was allegedly operating a sex-trafficking ring. Defense attorneys also wrote that at least 10 children have gone missing in and around Poweshiek County in recent years.
Witnesses Say Mollie Tibbetts Was at Sex Trafficking House newser.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newser.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Kayakers Found Safe
First responders searched the Des Moines River Sunday night for a pair of missing kayakers. The two individuals were found safe.
Eddyville, Iowa – A pair of kayakers were found safe after being reported being late to their destination.
Mahaska County Sheriff Russ VanRenterghem said a group of three had departed Eveland Access along the Des Moines River and had stopped to rest on a couple of different sandbars.
With the low water levels, paddling their way to Hardfish Access near Eddyville proved to be more than they could accomplish before dark. The third kayaker then called for help.
Country Church Destroyed By Fire Overnight
Fire crews extinguished what remains of the Wymore Church on Monday morning.
Rural Mahaska County – The old church building at Wymore, was destroyed by fire Monday morning.
Fire crews were dispatched before 4 am, to the 2100 block of Teller Avenue, but when deputies from the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene, the building was on the ground, having been consumed by the fire.
Neighbors of the church called in the fire and later shared stories about events they attended many years ago at the church, such as bible school.
Wymore Church around 2014. (file photo)