Mollie Tibbetts slaying suspect Cristhian Bahena Rivera pleads not guilty

MONTEZUMA, Iowa – The man accused of first-degree murder in the death of a University of Iowa student pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, appeared before District Court Judge Joel Yates at the Poweshiek County (Iowa) Courthouse, where his charge was formally read to him.

He said little, listening through headphones as the hearing was translated into Spanish. Speaking through an interpreter, he confirmed his lawyer's statement that he would enter the not guilty plea.

Bahena Rivera also waived his right to have a trial within 90 days. Yates scheduled his trial for April 16.

The entire proceeding lasted 10 minutes.

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Chad Frese, one of Bahena Rivera's lawyers, said his client was nervous ahead of the hearing "but he's anxious to get this going."

He would not say whether the defense team would request to move the trial out of Poweshiek County.

"We will analyze that as the evidence comes in and time goes on, but this has got a lot of publicity," he said. "That’s certainly a consideration."

No matter where the trial takes place, they'll need to find somewhere with 12 impartial jurors who can hear the case, he said.

Prosecutors declined to answer questions from reporters after the hearing.

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Bahena Rivera's arrest ended a five-week search for Mollie Tibbetts, 20, of Brooklyn, Iowa, after he led investigators to her body, which was covered in cornstalks in a field in rural Poweshiek County near the town of Guernsey. 

Tibbetts' body was found in August. Tibbetts was last seen July 18. 

If convicted, Bahena Rivera faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Police have said Bahena Rivera told them he pursued Tibbetts in his car while she was jogging that night, before parking, getting out of the car and running behind and alongside her.

When Tibbetts told Bahena Rivera she was going to call police, he "panicked and got mad," according to a criminal complaint.

"He then 'blocked' his 'memory,' which is what he does when he gets very upset," the complaint states. "And doesn't remember anything after that until he came to at an intersection."

An autopsy found Tibbetts died of "multiple sharp force injuries."

Frese declined to discuss the defense strategy he will pursue at trial, but defense attorneys unconnected to the case have said one possibility is that Bahena Rivera's claim of memory loss – if it can be documented – could open the door to the defense of diminished responsibility.

That defense would require Bahena Rivera to admit to killing Tibbetts, but argue that because of his mental state he was not able to form the intent to kill her that prosecutors must prove for a first-degree murder charge.

Follow Stephen Gruber-Miller on Twitter: @sgrubermiller

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