One suspect has been charged in connection with the death of University of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, who was reported missing in Brooklyn, Iowa on July, 18, 2018.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, who resides in Poweshiek County, was charged with first degree murder.

Remains believed to be that of Tibbetts were discovered in a cornfield south of Brooklyn on Tuesday, Assistant Director of DCI Field Operations Mitchell Mortvedt said at a press conference following the discovery.

Officials said a break in the case came after reviewing a video collected from an area on the east side of Brooklyn that showed Tibbetts was running when she was pursued by someone in a dark-colored Chevy Malibu.

The car was later connected to Rivera, who admitted making contact with a woman running in Brooklyn. Rivera told police he parked his vehicle, got out of his car and began running alongside Tibbetts.

According to the affidavit, Rivera said Tibbetts grabbed her phone and told him, “I’m gonna call the police.” Rivera panicked and then “blocked out” from his memory and “doesn’t remember anything until he came to at an intersection.”

Officials said Rivera then told them he “made a u-turn, drove back to an entrance to a field and then drove into a driveway to a cornfield.”

The incident in the footage between Rivera and Tibbetts happened outside of Brooklyn on 385th street, but her body was then found in a cornfield on 460th street.

Officials at the press conference said her body was discovered covered in corn stalks. They were unable to say how long the body, believed to be Tibbetts, had been there or an exact timeline, but said there would be an autopsy conducted on Wednesday in Ankeny, Iowa.

More results from the autopsy were said to take “awhile.”

Officials said Rivera is an undocumented immigrant who had been in the community “between four and seven years.” Mortvedt was unable to confirm he had any previous criminal history but said he kept to himself in the community.

In reaction to the news Tuesday that Tibbetts’ body was believed to be found, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement that she is heartbroken.

“Today, our state woke up to heart-wrenching news,” Reynolds said. “As a mother, I can’t imagine the sorrow felt by the Tibbetts family. We are all suffering over the death of Mollie, knowing that it could have been our own daughter, sister or friend.”

More than 4,000 tips were received in relation to the Tibbetts investigation.

“We thank the Tibbetts family for their support to us, and we hope that they will continue to have the support of their community and the nation in the coming weeks and months,” said DCI Special Agent in Charge, Richard Rahn, in a press release.

Reynolds ended the statement saying they would bring justice to Mollie’s killer.

“As Iowans, we are heartbroken, and we are angry,” Reynolds said. “We are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community, and we will do all we can to bring justice to Mollie’s killer.”

Rivera’s trial will be handled by the Attorney General’s Office because of his immigration status.

 

 

Editor’s Note: The sentence, “Rivera panicked and then “blacked out” from his memory and “doesn’t remember anything until he came to at an intersection,” has been changed to say, “Rivera panicked and then “blocked out” from his memory and “doesn’t remember anything until he came to at an intersection.”