UH OH

Mollie Tibbetts Murder Suspect Says Police Violated His Rights

Cristhian Bahena Rivera's attorneys say police did not read him his rights until 10 hours after his interview started.

The man accused of murdering University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts claims he was not informed of his rights before police interviewed him, The Des Moines Register reports. Attorneys for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, an undocumented immigrant, say that before his 12-hour interview with police, Rivera was not told he had a right to an attorney or a right to not cooperate. One of the lawyers, Chad Frese, told the newspaper Rivera was read his rights about 10 hours into the interview. “It's troublesome,” Frese said. “It's involuntary.” Iowa Attorney General's Office spokeswoman Lynn Hicks told the newspaper that the office planned to resist the lawyers' newest motion but declined to comment further. Rivera, 24, was charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 20-year-old Tibbetts. Rivera reportedly led investigators to her body in a cornfield, after he allegedly confessed to abducting her while she was running on July 18. He has since pleaded not guilty, and will be sentenced to life in prison if convicted. Rivera's lawyers also filed a motion last week to change the venue of the September trial to a more-diverse location and away from the “existing prejudice in Poweshiek County.”