Official: Suspect In Custody In Mollie Tibbetts' Death; Held On Federal Immigration Detainer

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — Police say a man in the country illegally has been charged with murder in the death of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts.

A charge of first-degree murder has been filed against 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera. If convicted, the charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison.

9:15 p.m.

The immigrant from Mexico charged in the kidnapping and murder of an Iowa college student worked at a dairy farm owned by the family of a prominent state Republican leader.

Yarrabee Farms said in a statement that Cristhian Bahena Rivera had worked at its farms for the last four years and was an employee in good standing. The company said it was shocked to hear that Rivera had been charged in the death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts.

Spokesman Dane Lang said Tuesday night that Yarrabee Farms is a "small family farm" owned by him and his father, Craig Lang, who has long been a prominent Iowa farmer and political figure.

Craig Lang previously served as president of the Iowa Farm Bureau and president of the Iowa Board of Regents, which governs the state's public universities. In June, he lost a close GOP primary in the race for state agriculture secretary.

Rivera was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in Tibbetts' death.

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7:25 p.m.

President Donald Trump says the case of a slain Iowa college student is illustrative of the nation's immigration laws.

Trump asked his audience at a rally Tuesday in Charleston, West Virginia, whether they had heard about the "illegal alien" from Mexico. Police in Iowa said earlier Tuesday that Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old man in the U.S. illegally, has been charged with murder in the death of 20-year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts.

Trump said, "You saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman. Should have never happened."

Trump called the nation's immigration laws "a disgrace" that need to be overhauled.

He added, "We're getting them changed, but we have to get more Republicans. We have to get `em."

Trump ran for president on a platform of cracking down on illegal immigration to the U.S. He opened his campaign by condemning many Mexicans as criminals.

At a news conference, Rick Rahn, special agent in charge with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said Bahena Rivera had been living in the area for four to seven years.

Investigators recovered the body of 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared from her small hometown in central Iowa a month ago, police said Tuesday.

Mollie Tibbetts, Missing Iowa College Student, Found Dead

Investigators say they used surveillance video in tracking down Rivera. The video showed Tibbetts jogging in a rural area near her hometown of Brooklyn as well as Rivera's car.

Police had searched the area but noted her body was found in a field, covered with corn stalks.

Investigators said Tibbetts was last seen July 18 in Brooklyn, a rural town of about 1,400 people, as she took a routine evening jog. It's unclear whether she returned to the home where she was dog-sitting for her boyfriend and her boyfriend's brother, who have said they were both out of town . She was reported missing by her family the next day, after she didn't show up for work at a day camp for children.

Tibbetts' disappearance set off a massive search involving dozens of officers from the FBI, as well as state and local agencies. They focused much of their efforts in and around Brooklyn, searching farm fields, ponds and homes. Investigators asked anyone who was around five locations, including a car wash, a truck stop and a farm south of town, to report if they saw anything suspicious on July 18.

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