DENIED

Man Convicted of Killing Mollie Tibbetts Won’t Get New Trial

Bahena Rivera was supposed to be sentenced in July, but two people came forward to back up claims that another man murdered Tibbetts.

Sentencing will proceed in the trial of Cristhian Bahena Rivera despite his requests for a new trial, Judge Joel Yates ruled Monday. Bahena Rivera, an undocumented farmhand, was convicted back in May of first-degree murder in the 2018 killing of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student. Bahena Rivera claimed he was abducted by masked men who forced him to take part in killing Tibbetts, who was out on a run near her hometown when she disappeared. Bahena Rivera was set to be sentenced last month, but two witnesses came forward claiming another man, Gavin Jones, had confessed that he had killed Tibbetts. Despite those allegations, Judge Yates announced that a new trial isn’t warranted. Bahena Rivera’s new sentencing date is Aug. 30. He faces a mandatory life sentence without parole.