Autopsy Planned For Body Thought To Be Mollie Tibbetts, Suspect Arrested

Authorities arrested 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera, an undocumented immigrant.

mollie tibbetts
A poster for missing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts hangs in the window of a local business, Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018, in Brooklyn, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
AP

An autopsy to determine is planned for Wednesday to determine when and how Mollie Tibbetts died. Nearly a month after the 20-year-old Iowa student vanished on July 18, a man who confessed to pursuing her as she ran on a country road led authorities to a field where a body believed to be hers was buried under corn stalks, reports CNN. Police arrested Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, on first-degree murder charges.

Rivera, an undocumented immigrant, told authorities that he saw Tibbetts and got out of his car to run beside her, even after she told him that she would call police. The suspect said that he blacked out at some point. It is unclear why he killed Tibbetts.

“I can’t really speak to you about the motive,” said Rick Rahn, special agent in charge at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, according to CNN. “I can just tell you it seems that he followed her and seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day and for whatever reason he chose to abduct her.”

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