Cristhian Bahena Rivera, man convicted of Mollie Tibbetts murder, will not get a new trial

The conviction will be handed down in Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s trial despite his requests for a new trial, Judge Joel Yates said on Monday. Bahena Rivera, an undocumented farmer, was convicted in May of first degree murder in the 2018 murder of Mollie Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student. Bahena Rivera claimed he was abducted by masked men who forced him to participate in the murder of Tibbetts, who was on the run near his hometown when she went missing. Bahena Rivera was due to be sentenced last month, but two witnesses have come forward claiming that another man, Gavin Jones, confessed to killing Tibbetts. Despite these allegations, Judge Yates announced that a new trial was not warranted. Bahena Rivera’s new sentencing date is August 30. He faces a mandatory life sentence without parole.