Defense attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera continued to try to plant doubt Monday about their client, charged with murder in the 2018 slaying of Mollie Tibbetts. An Iowa DCI agent acknowledged that a murder weapon was never found and there is no physical evidence proving Bahena Rivera killed her — only that her body was in his car’s trunk. The agent said evidence suggests Tibbetts was abducted on a road outside Brooklyn, Iowa, after 8 p.m. that day, but that he does not know precisely where or when she was killed.
An FBI agent testified that data from Tibbetts' cellphone provider shows her phone was moving at a running pace before accelerating to over 60 mph around 8:27 p.m. on July 18, 2018, and eventually slowing down and stopping more than 10 miles away. By 8:53 p.m., her phone went dark.
Agents narrowed their focus to that rural area near the town of Guernsey, where her body was later found. Her cellphone and FitBit device were never recovered, Vileta said. Prosecutors rested their case Monday afternoon, and the defense is expected to begin calling witnesses Tuesday.
