Iowa Jogger Mollie Tibbets' Killer to Walk Free?

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime, News

3.9 • 7.6K Ratings

🗓️ 19 July 2021

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sentencing for the man convicted of killing University of Iowa student, Mollie Tibbetts, has been delayed amid new information. Judge Joel Yates ordered Cristhian Rivera’s sentencing be delayed after two witnesses told investigators that a different man confessed to the crime. The delay came about after the defense filed a motion, blaming the prosecution for withholding evidence. According to Bahena Rivera’s attorneys, an inmate at the county jail said in May that he heard someone identified as “inmate 2” admit that Tibbetts was “bound and gagged in a trap house but that he was directed to kill Tibbetts once the search for her got too close,” CBS 8 reports. Inmate 2 allegedly said he was ordered to stab Tibbetts, who was initially kidnapped for sex trafficking, but killed after the case became too high-profile. Inmate 2 allegedly said he was ordered to hide the body near a Hispanic male in Tibbetts’ area, to pin the blame on someone else. The witness said he came forward after he heard Rivera testify during the trial that two other men killed Tibbetts and put the blame on him. State prosecutors said the inmate is not credible and evidence presented at trial proved that the real killer is Rivera. Still, the defense requested that the inmate be given the opportunity to testify, although the defense had already rested its case. Joining Nancy Grace Today:Jason Oshins - New York Defense AttorneyDr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, Atlanta GA www.angelaarnoldmd.com, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum WomenJoe Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet" Featured on "The Piketon Massacre: Return to Pike County" on iHeartRadioMatt Finn - FOX News National Correspondent

Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Cheryl McCollum, host of the brand new Cold Case Podcast, Zone 7.
0:04.1	We're going to be talking to family members, detectives, prosecutors, and nationally recognized
0:09.1	experts that are in my Zone 7. The group of professionals that I've called on
0:13.6	to help me work hundreds of cases you've heard of and thousands you haven't.
0:18.0	We are going to solve these cases on air together.
0:22.4	Listen to Zone 7 on the I Heart Radio app, the Apple Podcast app, or wherever you listen to
0:28.3	your favorite podcast.
0:36.0	Just when you thought the Molly Tibbet's case was done. The right guy has been convicted of murder,
0:46.0	murder of the gorgeous young Iowa co-ed. He's gone away for life. We'll never hear another word of it.
0:54.8	In the last hours, a stunning bombshell.
1:08.3	Six weeks after his guilty verdict, Christian Behena Rivera's attorney says he deserves a new trial
1:14.5	and these court documents spell out why. The motion says new evidence came to light during the trial.
1:20.8	That evidence is a state prison inmate who came forward claiming another inmate,
1:26.0	confessed to killing Molly Tibbet's while the two men were both in jail.
1:30.3	This witness inmate says he initially thought the confession was made up,
1:34.1	but then saw Rivera's testimony and believed it was likely true.
1:38.6	Or documents show the inmate who allegedly confessed that he was staying in a trap house,
1:43.6	sewn by a 50 year old man involved in sex trafficking. He says he saw Molly Tibbet's bound and
1:49.7	gagged and that the sex trafficker hatched a plan to kill her. The inmate claimed he and another
1:55.7	person carried out that plan to stab Molly Tibbet's and dump her body near a Hispanic male in order
2:02.0	to make it appear that the Hispanic male committed the crime. Okay, let me just digest what I just heard.
2:08.8	We are now looking at potential new murderers and the Molly Tibbet's case. The case that just
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