I guess this thread didn't get updated with the latest. But it was posted on Xavior Harrelson's thread as the defense managed to relate this to him somehow. Anyway, latest update:
A judge has denied the defense’s request for more information on other potential suspects in the death of Mollie Tibbetts. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who was convicted of killing her, is seeking a new trial after new witnesses came forward in the case.
www.iowapublicradio.org
Judge Denies Requests For Information On Other Suspects In Cristhian Bahena Rivera Case
A judge has ruled that prosecutors will not have to release information on other potential suspects in the case of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who was convicted of first degree murder in May for the killing of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts. Bahena Rivera’s attorneys are
seeking a new trial, after new witnesses independently named the same suspect, who is alleged to have confessed to killing Tibbetts and to have been involved with a sex trafficking ring.
"It is difficult for the Court to see how the great deal of that information could possibly be relevant to the Defendant, to Mollie Tibbetts, or to the Motion for New Trial. Further, those investigations are likely to contain confidential information about a variety of people, and Defendant’s examination of those investigations would be nothing more than a fishing expedition,” Yates' ruling reads in part, echoing arguments made by prosecutors.
In a hearing at the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Thursday, Iowa Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown dismissed the defense’s efforts as a “fishing expedition” and said there is no credibility to the witnesses’ claims that Tibbetts’ case is connected to other suspects involved in sex trafficking in the area.
“No evidence supports it. None. Zero,” Brown said. “There's nothing there.”
Bahena Rivera had been scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Thursday, the mandatory sentence for first degree murder in Iowa. His sentencing has been delayed while the defense’s requests are dealt with.
Bahena Rivera is slated to be back in Poweshiek County court on July 27 for what is expected to be an all-day hearing on a motion for a new trial.
abc7news.com
Good BYE!