Iowa prosecutors and the illegal alien accused of murdering 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts last year are seeking to relocate the high-profile murder trial to a neighboring county in the state.
In August 2018, Cristhian Bahena-Rivera, an illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with Tibbetts’ murder after police said he admitted to confronting and chasing down the young woman after her body was found in a cornfield in Poweshiek County, Iowa. The illegal alien lived in a region of Iowa that was surrounded by sanctuary cities, as Breitbart News noted, and worked on a dairy farm using a stolen ID and Social Security card after allegedly crossing the U.S.-Mexico border as a child.
This month, Bahena-Rivera’s attorneys requested that the murder trial be moved to a county with a more Hispanic, less white population — the vast majority of Poweshiek County residents are white Americans — claiming that because of the illegal alien’s Mexican heritage, a majority-white county would not be fair to him.
This week, state prosecutors said they too want the Tibbetts murder trial moved out of Poweshiek County, but for different reasons. Prosecutors wrote in a motion that it was important for the trial to be relocated from where the alleged murder occurred because they suspect the vast majority of county residents have already formed opinions on Tibbetts’ death, writing:
It is the State’s position that a fair and impartial jury cannot reasonably be selected in Poweshiek County. Given the nature of the crimes charged, there is a substantial likelihood many prospective jurors will have heard of the facts that support it and have substantial knowledge of the investigation. The death of Mollie Tibbetts has touched many of the residents of Poweshiek County and her death has significantly and emotionally affected many of the residents of the county and prospective jurors making it extremely difficult to obtain a fair and impartial jury. [Emphasis added]
Now, the prosecution team and Bahena-Rivera’s attorneys will meet with the court to determine where and when the trial can be relocated.
The illegal alien has made multiple requests in the lead up to the September trial thus far. Most recently, as Breitbart News reported, Bahena-Rivera asked that his confession of the murder be thrown out as evidence, with his attorneys claiming he was not read his Miranda rights beforehand.
Illegal Alien Accused of Killing Mollie Tibbetts Requests His Murder Confession Be Thrown Outhttps://t.co/Vj8NwbxROn
— John Binder 👽 (@JxhnBinder) March 7, 2019
Bahena-Rivera was also granted $3,200 in state taxpayer money to hire an expert witness to help his defense. Months ago, the illegal alien’s attorneys said Bahena-Rivera had a “constitutional right” to receive $5,000 in state taxpayer money to hire an independent investigative team to fight the murder charge.
According to prosecutors, Bahena-Rivera was the last person who saw Tibbetts jogging on the evening of July 18, 2018, in Brooklyn, Iowa, security camera footage reveals. That is the night Tibbetts went missing.
The illegal alien told police that Tibbetts was jogging when he saw her, according to prosecutors. That is when he said he approached Tibbetts and started talking to her. After Tibbetts told Bahena-Rivera that she would call the police if he did not stop following her, the illegal alien allegedly chased her and says he “blacked out” after this.
Police believe Bahena-Rivera stabbed Tibbetts to death, then drove to a cornfield where prosecutors say Bahena-Rivera placed cornstalks over her to hide her body. The illegal alien has been held on a $5 million bond, and the murder trial is set for September.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.