Part of the case against the suspect charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 20-year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts appears to be in jeopardy because of a botched Miranda warning.
Prosecutors have agreed to exclude some statements that 25-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera reportedly made to police.
Court documents filed Friday by prosecutors acknowledge that the initial Miranda warning given to Rivera around 11:30 p.m. on August 20th, 2018, failed to inform him that anything he said could be used against him in court.
His Miranda rights were accurately read to him a second time at 5:50 a.m. August 21st, as police were in a cornfield where Tibbetts’ body was found.
Rivera is accused of killing Tibbetts, who disappeared while out for a run near Brooklyn, Iowa. Investigators found her body a month later.
Officials say she was stabbed to death.
Rivera is scheduled to stand trial in Sioux City in Woodbury County District Court from a change of venue granted for the case on February 4th.
