Crimeatorium
Part 1: The State of Iowa vs Cristhian Bahena Rivera | The Murder of Mollie Tibbetts
Mon, 06 Jan 2025
Part 1Before we begin, I want to take a moment to reflect on the life of Mollie Tibbetts, a young woman whose light touched everyone she met. Mollie Cecelia Tibbetts was born on May 8, 1998, in San Francisco, California, and raised in both San Francisco and Brooklyn, Iowa. She graduated from BGM High School in 2017 and was pursuing a degree in psychology at the University of Iowa, driven by her dream of becoming a child psychologist to help children struggling with mental health issues.Mollie loved life, and it showed in everything she did. She excelled in writing and speech, sharing her thoughts on complex topics like mental health and self-esteem. She made friends everywhere she went, and children adored her. She worked at a summer camp where her laughter and warmth left a lasting impression. She was a runner, a dancer, an actor, and a singer. But above all, Mollie was a young woman filled with kindness, ambition, and an undeniable joy for life.In July 2018, Mollie disappeared while on an evening jog near her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, sparking a massive search effort that united the community and drew nationwide attention. Sadly, her body was discovered weeks later.This episode covers the court trial in full, edited for length and clarity.Contact:[email protected] Blog for updates and insights:https://crimeatorium.com/blogSupport:Donations are appreciated, if you would like to help support the show, use the link below and buy me a burrito and a Diet Pepsi:http://Ko-fi.com/crimeatoriumFor $3 a month, you can support this show on Patreon, in return you will receive ad free, early, and bonus episodeshttps://www.patreon.com/crimeatoriumIf you like the podcast, please share it on social media and with friends, and take a minute to leave a review for Crimeatorium on Spotify, Podchaser or Apple Podcasts.https://www.crimeatorium.com/rate/Music:im Kulig (timkulig.com)Titles: Crimeatorium IntroLicensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0997280/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1Thank you for listening!Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/crimeatorium9009/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
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Before we begin, I want to take a moment to reflect on the life of Molly Tibbetts, a young woman whose light touched everyone she met. Molly Cecilia Tibbetts was born on May 8, 1998, in San Francisco, California, and raised in both San Francisco and Brooklyn, Iowa.
She graduated from BGM High School in 2017 and was pursuing a degree in psychology at the University of Iowa, driven by her dream of becoming a child psychologist to help children struggling with mental health issues. Molly loved life and it showed in everything she did. She excelled in writing and speech, sharing her thoughts on complex topics like mental health and self-esteem.
Molly made friends everywhere she went and children adored her. She worked at a summer camp where her laughter and warmth left a lasting impression. She was a runner, a dancer, an actor, and a singer. But above all, Molly was a young woman filled with kindness, ambition, and an undeniable joy for life.
In July 2018, Molly disappeared while on an evening jog near her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa, sparking a massive search effort that united the community and drew nationwide attention. Sadly, her body was discovered weeks later. This episode covers the court trial in full, edited for length and clarity.
Committed as follows. Said defendant, on or about July 18, 2018, in Poweshiek County, Iowa, did murder Molly Tibbetts in violation of Iowa Code Section 707.1 and 707.2, Subsection 1, Subsection A. A true information. Defendant entered a not guilty plea to the charge. Thank you, Mr. Claymore.
Mr. Claver, on behalf of the state of Iowa, you may give your opening.
Thank you, Your Honor. Molly Tibbetts. This case is her story. This case is the story of Molly's disappearance and the story of Molly's murder. Molly Tibbetts was 19 years old, going into her sophomore year at the University of Iowa. She was home for the summer, and home for Molly was Brooklyn, Iowa, a town of about 1,400 people in Poweshiek County.
Poweshiek County is located about midway between Des Moines and Iowa City. And on July 18, 2018, Molly was house-sitting for her boyfriend, Dalton Jack, and his brother, Blake. They resided at 622 West Des Moines Street in Brooklyn. She was also taking care of the dogs while Dalton and Blake were out of town working. They worked construction. Dalton was in Dubuque, Blake was in Ames.
Molly was an avid runner, and she ran cross country and track in high school. On July 18th, 2018, she put on her multicolored neon running shoes, and left the house. It was customary for Molly to run in the evenings, and that's what she did on July 18th. And she had her usual routes. One of those routes took her out of town on a gravel road on 385th Avenue.
That's the route she took on July 18th, 2018. Shortly before 8 p.m. that night, Christina Stewart was traveling to her parents' farm to tend the horses. And she passed Molly on that road. Christina Stewart had known Molly since Molly was a small child. And Christina Stewart was a hair stylist in town. She'd cut Molly's hair. She recognized Molly.
And aside from Molly's killer, Christina Stewart was the last person to see Molly alive. Molly didn't show up for work the next day. She worked at a daycare in Grinnell, which was a few miles from Brooklyn. She'd worked there the summer before. And this was unusual for Molly. She was a no-call and a no-show. Her family hadn't been in touch with her the night before or that morning.
Dalton Jack hadn't been in touch with her. And they began to call each other to find out where Molly was. They began to get worried. And that's when they contacted law enforcement. And that kicked off an exhaustive, intensive investigation spanning nearly five weeks.
There were hundreds of people involved, volunteers, local law enforcement, fire departments, the DCI, FBI, and even Homeland Security. And they canvassed the entire town of Brooklyn. They searched nearby fields and waterways, ditches, ponds, The sheriff even went up in a helicopter to search some of the local fields.
And as the hours turned into days and days into weeks, every lead they pursued came up empty. After four weeks, they were no closer to finding Molly than when they started.
But because of the resources and the investigation that the investigation had and the number of agents, one of the things they were able to do was collect the security camera footage and surveillance video from around the timeframe and date and area where Molly was last seen. And as the agents meticulously went over this video, on one of the from Dalton and Blake Jack on East Des Moines Street,
They saw a specter, a silhouette of what appeared to be a jogger, in the time and the area Molly was last seen. As they scoured that video for any other clue as to Molly's disappearance, they noticed a certain vehicle appearing again and again and again on that video. It was a black Chevy Malibu. That's a common make and model, but this one was unique.
This vehicle had non-standard rims, it had chrome door handles, and it had chrome mirrors. But shortly after this vehicle was identified as a vehicle of interest in the case, Poweshiek County Deputy and Investigator Steve Kibbe was driving home on Interstate 80 when he saw a black Chevy Malibu with the chrome side mirrors. So he followed that vehicle, and he approached the driver when it stopped.
The driver didn't speak much English, and so he had the help of a neighbor to speak to the driver. The driver identified himself with the birth certificate as Christian Bahena Rivera, the defendant. As Deputy Kivy continued to speak with the defendant, he learned that the defendant worked at Yarrabee Farms. which was a local dairy farm in Poweshiek County, Iowa.
Because of the language barrier, Deputy Kivy wasn't able to gain much other information from the defendant. He took pictures of the defendant, he took pictures of the vehicle, and he ended that encounter. Not long after that, law enforcement decided they wanted to speak with the defendant further. And on August 20th, 2018, they went to Yarrabee Farms.
to find the defendant, speak with him, and canvass the area. They did find the defendant that day, in the afternoon, spoke with the defendant, asked if he'd do an interview, to which he agreed. That interview took place at the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office. Now, the defendant's a native Spanish speaker.
And so Pamela Romero, an Iowa City police officer, also a native Spanish speaker, was enlisted to conduct that interview. The interview went on for several hours. They talked about where the defendant was from, who his family was, who his friends and associates were, where he worked. And the defendant admitted at that time that he drove a black Chevy Malibu.
He was the only person that drove that black Chevy Malibu. And then they started talking about Molly Tibbins and what he knew about her disappearance. And at first, defendant denied knowing anything about Molly's disappearance except what he'd seen around town with the flyers and news reports. And then he was showed a still photograph from that surveillance video. It was then that defendant
relented on his story, and he admitted that he had seen Molly the night she disappeared. He admitted that he found her attractive, that she was hot in his words. And he admitted after he saw her the first time, he circled back to take a second look. Early in the morning on August 21st, 2018, Deputy Kivy,
Officer Romero and the defendant went to a cornfield off of 460th Avenue 2478 in rural Poweshiek County near the Poweshiek County and Iowa County line. This particular field had a gate and a long grassy ingress or drive that stretched more than 50 yards into the corn. Defendant was interviewed again at that location. And it was there that he made further admissions.
He admitted that he'd seen Molly the night she disappeared, July 18, 2018. He admitted that he followed her, that he got out of his car. He admitted to jogging to catch up with her, that he wanted to get close to her. He admitted that Molly didn't want to have anything to do with him, that she threatened to call the police. And he admitted he became angry at that time.
He admitted to fighting with her. And then he says the next thing that he remembers, he's driving in his car to Malibu, and he notices Molly's earbuds. And he remembers that Molly is in his trunk. He admits taking Molly's body out of the trunk. He admits seeing blood on Molly's body and neck. He admits putting Molly over his shoulder. He described the body as someone who had fainted.
He admitted taking Molly into the field, placing her face up, and putting corn stalks on her body, and then leaving. Law enforcement searched the field off of 460th Avenue, and they found a body decomposed beyond all recognition, wearing multicolored neon running shoes. An autopsy was done of the body. Identity was confirmed as Molly Tibbetts.
Body was examined and determined that Molly had been stabbed anywhere from 7 to 12 times. In the chest, near the ribs, in the neck, and in the skull. The medical examiner determined that the cause and manner of death was homicide by sharp force injury. The defendant's vehicle was searched, the Chevy Malibu, and blood was found on the trunk liner and in the trunk.
Analysis was done of that blood, DNA analysis, and it was matched to the DNA taken from the body. It was Molly's blood. in the defendant's Chevy Malibu. Ladies and gentlemen, this is what I expect the evidence in this case to show.
And when you go back in your deliberations, I'd like you to focus on the three primary aspects of the state's evidence that point to the defendant as Molly Tibbetts' killer. The first is a video, the video that shows the defendant's black Chevy Malibu in the time and the area where Molly was last seen.
Combine that with the defendant's admissions that he was the only one that drove that vehicle and that he was alone that night. Second aspect of the state's evidence for you to focus on is Molly's blood in the defendant's Malibu. And the third of the defendant's admissions
His admissions, that he saw Molly, that he found her attractive, that he ran alongside her, that Molly threatened to call the police, that he became angry, that he fought with Molly, that he drove to the field at 2478 460th Avenue, the field with the gate and the long ingress into the corn, close to the county line, that he remembered Molly being in the trunk,
that his admissions of taking Molly's bloody body out of the trunk, putting her on his shoulder, taking her into the field, leaving her there, covering her with corn stalks. Ladies and gentlemen, when you examine this evidence together, there can be no other conclusion than that the defendant killed Molly Tibbetts.
And I'll ask you to return a verdict, the only verdict that the evidence demands, that you find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Claver. Does the defense elect to give their opening at this time?
Your Honor, we will defer our opening to the conclusion of the state's case. Thank you.
Record will so reflect.
Please state your name for the record. Blake Jack. And where do you live? 622 West Des Moines Street in Brooklyn. How long have you lived at 622 West Des Moines Street in Brooklyn? Three and a half years. Do you live there currently with anyone else? Yep, my wife. What's your wife's first name? Allie. How long have you been married? Since 2019 of August.
I probably wasn't going to ask your anniversary date. That's okay. But do you also have children?
Yes, we do.
All right. And how many kids do you guys have?
We've got one son, Brayson, and we have another one on the way. All right.
back in july of 2018 were you also residing at 622 west des moines in brooklyn yes and who was living with you at that point in time well at that time was my fiance but still ally my brother dalton and his girlfriend molly and let's take a look at some exhibits here i'm going to put exhibit 4 on the uh screen can you see that yep kate
On the left side of this exhibit 4, which has been admitted into evidence, it says 622 West Des Moines Street. Do you see that? Yep. Is that where you reside? Yes. All right. And is this generally what town are we here? Is on the map? Brooklyn. All right. Mr. Jack, where is it that you are employed? I'm self-employed. I own my own construction company.
Okay, how long have you had that construction company?
Going on three years. Okay, and do you have other employees? Yes. Okay, how many? Right now we have six full-time employees. Do you have siblings? I do. Two brothers, Dalton and Randy. And is Dalton older or younger? Dalton's younger. He's three years younger than me. And how about Randy? Randy's three years younger than him, so six years younger than me. So you're the oldest of the boys?
Yep. Prior to her death, Mr. Jack, did you know Molly Tibbetts?
Yeah, I knew her from just being my brother's girlfriend, and she'd come to family events and got to know her a little bit more whenever she started living with us part-time when Dalton moved in with me and my wife. So, yeah. How long had Dalton lived with you and Allie prior to July of 2018? Do you remember?
Well, we bought the house in October, and he moved in pretty much as soon as we bought the house. We did some small remodel projects before he moved in, but shortly after we moved in, he moved in with us as well.
He moved in October of 2017? Mm-hmm. Is that a yes? Yes. All right. And did you get to know Molly over that time period while she and Dalton dated?
yeah i mean that was probably you know whenever they when she lived with us that was the busiest time of year for me so i wasn't at home all the time but um they would eat dinner with us occasionally their room was upstairs and our room was downstairs so we kind of kept our separate areas they were constantly in you know in their room and stuff so but we ate dinner together got to know her pretty well got to know her family a little bit and stuff i knew her brothers from sports and i coached him and stuff so
So where were you employed in the summer of 2018?
I was self-employed at that time. I was working on a basement finish job. We were finishing out a basement over a new house over in Newton at that time. So did you own your own construction business back in 2018?
Yep, I did. All right. And the week of July 16th, which would include July 18th, where were you physically located?
I would go to the job site in Newton, and my wife, who worked for a seed corn company, was staying up in Ames as a field inspector at a hotel there with the rest of her colleagues, and so I would go up there and stay with her in those couple of days during that week. Okay.
We'll talk to you a little bit more in detail about what you were doing that week. But as of July of 2018, did you know any person named Christian Bahena Rivera?
No.
Have you ever met anyone that you recall that had that name? No. To your knowledge, Mr. Jack, had Dalton Jack or Molly Tibbetts ever mentioned the name Christian Bahena Rivera? No. Let's talk more specifically about the week of July 18th, okay? Yep. So I know you've told us you were working, but I want to direct your attention back to that week.
When was it that you left town to go to Newton to work on this construction job that you've already described?
was working there every day we'd been we were probably midway through the process of that remodel or that finish in that basement so I was going there every day for work I'm even weeks before that and weeks after that okay so were you traveling to Newton and then coming home in the evening or did you stay over that week
That week I stayed those two days with my wife in Ames, but primarily I was coming home in the weeks prior. I mean, if I had a softball game, I'd come back home for softball, which was Mondays and Fridays, but that week I was staying with my wife in Ames.
What was the plan with regard to your house and who was going to be there while you were gone?
Well, the plan was for Molly to watch the dogs. I didn't know until Monday night that Dalton wasn't going to be, he was traveling to Dubuque, which for him to be on the road was pretty common at that time. So all I asked Molly to do was just let the dogs in and out. So what was the practice with the dogs?
Whenever you, when there was nobody home, where would you put them?
We'd put them in the basement, and the reason we did that is we have an old four-square farmhouse, and the basement's just a regular four-square farmhouse basement, concrete floor, but it's not finished, and then all the utilities and stuff are down there.
Toby, our younger dog, had epilepsy, and so if he would have a seizure episode and we were not around, he would soil himself, and we didn't want that up above in the living space. So to prevent any of that big messes to clean up, we'd put them in the basement, So what was the plan that week, then, with regard to you and Dalton and Molly? What were the arrangements that were made?
I mean, there wasn't any drawn-out, really, arrangements. It's just that I asked Molly to let the dogs out while I was gone and just told her I was staying with Allie and Ames. That was really the only, you know, it wasn't a formal arrangement by any means, but that was just kind of what we decided upon just because I was going to be gone. And with Dalton being out of town, she had no problem.
She had some stuff there anyways, so it wasn't a big inconvenience for her to come let them out. When was the last time that you saw Molly Tibbetts alive? Monday. I don't remember the day, whatever that Monday was before she went missing. Okay.
So that would have been July 16th if Wednesday, July 18th was when she went missing.
Is that right?
16th, yeah. So how was it that you got to Newton? I drove there. All right, did you have any communication at all, Mr. Jack, on Monday or Tuesday with Molly Tibbetts that you have not already described to us?
No.
Did you have any communication with your little brother, Dalton Jack, on Monday or Tuesday that you haven't already told us? No. By the way, when did he tell you that he was going to be working in Dubuque?
I can't remember exactly. It had probably been Tuesday, because that was the day I was going to go up to see Allie, to be sure. I wanted to be sure the dogs were going to be taken care of.
And was it your understanding that Dalton then was going to be out of town for the remainder of the week? Right, he said he was going to be out of town for, it might have been a couple weeks, so. I want to now direct your attention to Thursday, July 19th of 2018. Did you receive any contact from Dalton Jack?
He called me right as I was wrapping up with work for the day and just asked me to, when I got home, to check on Molly and to see what was going on, said he hadn't heard from her and that she called in sick for work. Or that she hadn't called in sick, but that she hadn't been at work and that work called him to see where she was at. All right.
So do you remember when you got that phone call from Dalton Jack? Yeah, I was on the job site at noon. It was about 4.30 in the afternoon because that's about the time we always wrap up every day.
And was that the first that you had heard that Molly Tibbetts may be missing? Yes, yeah. And that was from Dalton? From Dalton. At the time, what were your plans on that Thursday at 4.30? Were you going to come home that evening? What were your plans?
Well, I had to go help Allie with her car because she forgot her car keys. But my plan was still to come home afterwards, yes.
So after receiving this communication from Dalton Jack that Molly had not been heard from, did you get any other phone call from him between helping Allie get her phone keys and driving home to Brooklyn?
No.
Any text messages or phone calls, anything like that? I'm not suggesting there are, but any communications you can remember? No, not that I can remember. All right, so after receiving this communication from Dalton Jack, what did you and Allie then do?
So I got home, and as I'm pulling into town, two of her friends were driving around and kind of half flagged me down and just asked me if I'd seen her. And I said I hadn't seen her, but I'm going to the house right now to check on her. At that point, I was still assuming that she'd probably just be there or whatever. You know, I didn't know her. Went in the house. She wasn't there.
Hang on just a second.
I'll get to that, okay? So the two friends, where was it they flagged you down?
that would be north orchard street which is just around the corner from my house okay so so they were on this on the sidewalk or street no they were driving they were in a car i got you yeah okay so um and then you stopped and talked to them yeah and after that you went where went back to the house to or went to the house so whenever you arrived back at 622 west des moines do you remember what time you got there
not the exact time no probably if i left newton and help out with her car like six o'clock but it was still light outside still light outside in the middle of summer so whenever you arrived back at 622 west des moines was anyone else present no and did you go into the house yes all right mr jack whenever you went into the house did you notice anything unusual about
any entryway, was there any sign of that was unusual?
No.
Any broken locks, broken windows, anything like that? Nope. Okay. And how was it that you got into your house that day, if you can recall? Well, I just walked in the door. We don't lock the doors in our small town, so. Okay. So the door wasn't even locked? No. Okay. So whenever you walk in, anything out of the ordinary in the house that you saw? No. Everything pretty much just as we left it.
Where were the dogs? The dogs were in the basement.
Was that one of the first things that you did whenever you got into the house was to get the dogs? Yep. Pretty much anytime anybody comes home, you go down there and get them, you know, let them upstairs.
Did you happen to go up to the room that Molly shared with Dalton whenever she was with him? Yeah, I went up there to check and see if she was in there and she wasn't in there.
after checking the house did you check with any of your neighbors to see if they had seen or heard anything yes I went over to the neighbors to the West and just checked and see if they had heard or seen anything who did you talk to do you recall Jeff and Michelle Hall okay
Had they seen or heard anything? No. Did you talk to other neighbors or other people in the area?
Yeah, I went a couple blocks away to another neighbor. So who was it? What was his name? Nate Hopwood. And did you learn any information from Nate Hopwood? Well, we asked about the cameras, and he said to us that they were not working because of a storm. What cameras? There's a couple cameras on the outside.
One kind of like faces the road and the parking lot on one side, and that's the one we were kind of hoping to get access to. That's the only one I could see from my house. But those were not operative?
Yeah, according to him. Did Nate Hopp could indicate he had seen Molly running the evening before? I can't remember. Okay.
Is there anybody else that you talked to? Just at that point, Molly's friends were over there, and we're kind of brainstorming, trying to figure out where she might be. And then at some point, after kind of doing our best to track her down, we decided just to call law enforcement.
So how many of Molly's friends had come over to your house to assist you in trying to find her?
The two girls were there pretty much right away, but then it seemed like there was other kids just kept showing up. I mean, there was two other boys I know driving around in a truck and talking to people, but I don't remember how many exactly came over, but there was several. Did you start to become worried?
I was worried just that I didn't have any inkling of what happened, but I was kind of worried that she wasn't answering her phone and didn't have contact. There was a big storm the day before, like a tornado that went through Marshalltown, so we didn't know if maybe it's something that had something to do with it.
That was honestly my first thought was that maybe she got caught in the storm or something.
While you were home and after you had checked with the neighbors to see if they'd seen anything... Did Allie come over? Yeah, she came home a couple hours later.
She came back from Ames. Did you ever call Molly's phone? Oh, we called it a whole bunch of times, you know, just always trying to get through to her. And you know her friends did the same thing? Yes. We tried Facebook, Snapchat, everything. And no response? No response.
All right, before we finish this up, Mr. Jack, were you familiar, because Molly had stayed with you, with what her running habits were?
not exactly like where she went but I know she ran all the time and when I would see her generally be like coming back home from work I'd see her running down the street parallel with where we live and then I'd see her scatterings around town I mean she ran pretty much everywhere so was Molly a runner and in high school yeah she was in track and cross country I think
And generally speaking, what would Molly wear whenever you would see her go out for runs?
Shorts, jogging shoes, either like a tank top or a sports bra. And she always had her like the iPod thing that holds her phone for music and stuff.
Prior to going to your job in Newton this week that included July 18th of 2018, did you notice anything unusual in the relationship between Dalton Jack and Molly Tibbetts? No. Did they seem to be getting along? Yes.
I don't think she would be staying at our house if they weren't getting along.
Okay. That's all the questions I have for Mr. Jack. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Brown. Defense may cross-examine.
Sir, I've got a few questions for you. It sounds like when you heard about Molly Tippett being missing that it concerned you. Is that right?
Yes.
You remember that phone call?
From Dalton, yes.
You remember where you were?
Yes, I was in Newton.
Did you get a hit in your stomach right away when you heard that?
I mean, I was just a little bit nervous for him, but wasn't thinking it was anything to be terribly concerned about until I got home.
You'd agree with me that Molly isn't the type of person that would just go off the radar for a day or two.
Absolutely not. She was always attached to her phone.
She took pride in showing up to work every day. Is that right?
Yes.
She was a very conscientious employee at the daycare that she worked at. Is that right?
Yes.
She enjoyed her job and enjoyed being a presence in her children's life or not her children, but the children's life. Is that right?
Yep.
And so it was unusual that she would just not show up to work. Is that correct?
Correct.
Now, it sounds like just about as soon as you found out about this, you tried to get yourself back to Brooklyn. Is that correct?
Yes.
The first thing that was done is a group of friends kind of gathered together to see if they could locate Molly. Is that right?
When I got back, yeah.
You talked about Facebook and Snapchat and different location ways to track her. Is that right?
Yeah.
I don't do Snapchat, but if you could enlighten me a little bit, there's something that's called location services. Is that right?
As far as the map thing, yeah.
Essentially, if you are a friend or an acquaintance on Snapchat, you can see that person's location. Is that correct?
Yes.
Did you use Snapchat at that point in time?
I have Snapchat, but I don't think I had her as a friend, but her friends that were with us did.
And so one of the first things that was done is to kind of look and see if they could see Molly's location. Is that correct?
Yep, yep.
Because it would be pretty usual that their friends would be able to see exactly where she was. Is that right?
Yeah, I would think so. I mean, it just depends on whether you have the ghost mode on or whatever, but yeah.
Now, as soon as you were not able to find Molly, the police were called, is that correct?
Correct.
You were asked to give a couple of different interviews, is that right?
Yes.
I think on July 20th, so the day after she went missing, you were asked to interview, is that correct?
Correct.
Where was that interview at?
One was down at the municipal building in Brooklyn and the other was at the fire department in Brooklyn.
And those are pretty soon after Molly went missing, is that correct?
Yeah, one was like the day or day after, and then the next one was later on in the week after we'd been searching for a while.
Be fair to say that you were cooperative with any investigation techniques that law enforcement wanted to utilize with you, is that right? Yes. So if they wanted you to come in for another interview, you were happy to do that, is that right? Yes. They also asked you to do a polygraph, is that right? I'm not a judge.
This is state.
Sir, were you ever asked to give a swab of your DNA?
No, not that I can think of.
Another thing that law enforcement did is they asked for different devices that you had. Is that right?
Yes.
And you were cooperative with providing those devices to law enforcement. Is that right?
Yes.
In fact, I think you said, here's my cell phone. Take it and you can run anything on it that you need. Is that right?
Yes.
So anything, any messages or anything that were on that phone were voluntarily provided to law enforcement, is that correct?
Yes.
You and Dalton are both avid hunters, is that right?
Yes.
What do you hunt?
Deer, pheasants, turkeys, primarily.
Does Dalton also hunt deer? Yes. Pheasants?
Yes.
Turkeys?
Yep.
You two hunt together? Yes. I would assume that it's not unusual for your home to have guns that you use to hunt with, is that correct?
Correct.
What kind of guns would those be?
Rifles and shotguns.
You also had a .357 at your home, is that right?
Yep.
Another thing, you don't use the knives, I guess, in hunting, but if you shoot a deer, you would use the knife to gut the deer, is that right?
Yep, field dress it, yep.
Would it be fair to say that you've got several different knives in your residence?
Yes.
Same with Dalton?
Dalton had a couple, yeah.
You two would generally hunt together fairly regularly, is that right?
During season, I mean, we bow hunted together. That was kind of our favorite thing to do. And then we'd shotgun hunt with our family. We have a group that goes every first season shotgun.
Molly and Dalton did have their problems, isn't that right?
Not that I'm aware of.
There was issues with him cheating on her with another woman?
Not that I'm aware of.
So you're not aware of any problems involving that?
No, but I'm sure he wouldn't be the first 18-year-old to cheat on his girlfriend.
Dalton was also known for having some anger problems.
Can you elaborate on that?
He was known to get into fights at school? No.
No.
You don't know anything about Dalton having any anger problems?
No. State's next witness is Dalton Jack. Can you please state your name for the record? I am Dalton Jack. And currently, Mr. Jack, how are you employed? I am employed by the United States military in the Army. Okay, what is your current duty station with the Army? Fort Bragg, North Carolina. And in what branch of the Army, or what's your assignment within the Army?
I am in the 82nd Airborne Division as a sergeant, team leader. Say that again? Team leader, I guess. View my official M2 position.
When did you join the Army? November of 2018. November 6th is my official date. And whenever you joined the Army, obviously you went to basic training, right? Yes. When was it that you were assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg? April of 2019. What's your job within the military?
What do you do day to day? I'm a team leader, so I have four soldiers underneath me that I take care of and lead pretty much.
How old are you? I am 23 years old. Tell the jury where it is, Mr. Jack, that you grew up. I grew up in Brooklyn, Iowa. Do you live anywhere else other than Brooklyn, Iowa, growing up?
There was like a year and a half or so that we lived in Linville, Iowa, but we continued to go to Brooklyn schools.
2016.
Your brother is Blake? Yes. You have another brother, correct? Yes. What's his name? Randy. And what's your parents' names? Brian and Cindy. Growing up, Mr. Jack, did you participate in sports in high school? Yes. Whenever you were in high school, did you know Molly Tibbetts? Yes, I did. All right. Did you date at all while you were in high school? No, we didn't.
Well, yeah, we started dating my senior year after a football game. Okay. And where was Molly Tibbetts in relation to your high school class? What class was she in? She was one grade below mine. How long had you known Molly Tibbetts while you were in high school? Did you know her all her life? I mean, everybody knows each other in Brooklyn High School.
We graduated with a class of like 50 people, so. So everybody knows everybody. Yeah.
after graduation uh mr jack what did you do with regard to school i went to hawkeye community college for a year and then decided that wasn't for me pretty much where is hawkeye community college it is in waterloo iowa and what did you study there generally uh sustainable construction and design so you have the same interest in construction as your brother blake yes
What are your plans, by the way, once you get out? Are you going to get out of the Army at some point in time? Do you have plans to come back to Iowa? I don't know if I'm going to get out of the Army anytime soon, so I haven't really thought about it. Okay. So the Army right now is your career? Yes. After your year at Hawkeye Community College, what did you decide to do with regard to schooling?
I elected to not go back to school and instead go to work. And whenever you came back from college, where did you move to? I moved back to Brooklyn, Iowa, and then started working at Jasper Construction. So where did you live then when you moved back to Brooklyn? Initially, when I moved back, I lived with my parents. And then where did you move to? I moved to 622 West Des Moines with Blake.
Moved in with your brother? Yes. All right. You had mentioned earlier that you had first started dating Molly Tibbetts in high school. Is that right? Yes. How long did you guys date continuously? About three years. Was there any breakups in that three years? No. I'm going to show you a photo I've shown you before. What's on the screen, Mr. Jack, is state's exhibit number one. Who is that person?
That is Molly. And this picture, do you actually recognize this photo? Yes, I'm actually standing behind the camera when she took this. Okay. So is this one of her senior pictures? Yes. Is this the way Molly appeared? This may be a little bit younger, but just before her death? Yes. So after you graduated high school and went to Hawkeye, you and Molly continue to date? Yes.
Did you have a relationship with Molly's parents? I knew them, yeah. Okay.
And would you see them often whenever they were around Molly? Before this whole situation happened, I'd never met Rob before in my life, but I'd met Laura, yes. Okay, Rob didn't live in Iowa, is that right?
No, he lived in California. Okay, and Laura, who is Molly's mother, still lived in Brooklyn? Yes. So you would obviously see her more frequently? Yes. Mr. Jack, whenever you and Molly were seeing each other, tell us how you would typically communicate. We would communicate through Snapchat and text messages. And did you use both of those platforms fairly often? Yes.
Did you know Molly's phone number back in July of 2018? Yes. Can you tell us what it is? 641-510-1065. You still remember that? Yes. All right. Were there any other ways that you would communicate with her, like on Twitter, Facebook, or any of those other platforms? I don't have any of those other platforms. How would you describe Molly's personality? She was always happy, bubbly, goofy.
She just liked to have fun pretty much, I guess. And having spent that time around Molly, the three years that you described to us, did you learn what her running habits were? Yes. And tell us about those.
She would run pretty much anywhere from one to six miles almost every day, like barring some extreme weather, she would go on a run every day.
And typically would she run at any particular time of day? She'd run later in the evening when it started to get cooler. And was that particularly the so whenever summer was in full swing? Yes. Were you familiar with the type of clothing or equipment that she would run with? Yes, she would. Hang on just a second. As it relates to her clothing, typically what type of clothes would she run in?
She would run in shorts and a sports bra sometimes, like one of those cut-off muscle shirts, I guess, that she stole from my closet. And then an armband to keep her phone in, and then she had some wireless earphones for music.
Those wireless earphones, were those a gift from you? Yes. What would she do with her hair, typically? Wear it up. Wear it up how? Like a ponytail, I suppose. Would she ever wear any type of headband or headgear? Yeah, sometimes. I know she had some, but... Okay, that's fine. Did she also have any other type of timing devices that she would wear with her? She wore a Fitbit as well. All right.
Mr. Jack, I want to direct your attention back to the week that includes Wednesday, July 18th of 2018. You remember that week. Is that right? Yes. During that time frame, where were you working? I was working in Dubuque, Iowa. Okay, for who? Jasper Construction. And tell us what type of construction that Jasper does. Civil construction, roads and bridges.
Okay, and how long had you been working for them? About two years. Okay, have you been working full or part-time? I've been working full-time. Was this both during and after you left Hawkeye Community College?
I worked for them part-time during and then after I went back to full-time, but I worked for them full-time this summer before I went to Hawkeye as well.
And typically with Jasper construction, the jobs, would they require travel?
Yes.
Would they require overnight stays? Yes.
What other places would Jasper have sent you other than Dubuque? I went down to pretty much the Missouri border and we built a bridge down there. Burlington, been down there a few times, and Des Moines all the time, and then there were some other ones, but they escaped my memory right now, I apologize.
So the week that would have included Wednesday, July 18th, where was the job? It was in Dubuque. Okay. So would you have gone with a crew of people? Yes. All right. The week that included July 18th, Wednesday, July 18th, did you leave?
to go to a job near dubuque yes i did okay what day of the week did you leave monday okay so monday would be july 16th of 2018. checks out yes all right and how was it that you got to dubuque i drove my own personal vehicle up there did anyone else from jasper construction or any other person for that matter go with you Yes, Luis, and I can't remember his last name, I'm sorry.
He rode with me up there. He was one of your coworkers? Yes. And what time would you have arrived Monday in Dubuque, if you recall?
Well, we would have left at like 3 in the morning, so like 5.30, 6. Okay.
And was it Monday or Tuesday that you went up to Dubuque? Do you remember? Went up on Monday. Okay. Did you work then all day Monday? Yes. And where was it that you stayed in Dubuque, if you recall? I don't recall the name of it, but it was a motel in Dubuque. And would the rest of the road crew have stayed there with you? Yes. Who was your job supervisor, do you recall? Nick Wilson.
While you were in Dubuque, did you have communication with Molly Tibbetts? Yes. How frequently? As frequently as I looked at my phone, I suppose. Even while you were working on the job, did you have your cell phone with you? Yes. Would you communicate with Molly by text or Snapchat while you were working?
Yes, depending on what I was doing.
Where was Molly working at the time? She was working for a daycare in Grinnell. Where specifically in Grinnell? Do you remember? The Grinnell Hospital. And was that full-time work for her? Yes. So while you were in Dubuque, where was your brother Blake?
Blake would have been at his own job site in I.E. Newton? I think it was Newton.
Okay. He wasn't in Brooklyn? No. And where was Molly staying, if you know? Molly would have been staying at my brother's house. It was part of her... I wouldn't say really a job, but we'll call it that, to help take care of the dogs? Yes. And was she house-sitting, for lack of a better term? For lack of a better term, yes. So I want to now direct your attention to Wednesday, July 18th.
What was your work day like on that, if you remember?
On Wednesday, same old show up, and then we were doing a bridge replacement, not a bridge replacement, a joint replacement on the bridge that goes over the Mississippi River. So it was actually we were forming at the time. Everything was already broken out. We were setting up forms to repour those joints. So you're talking about pouring concrete?
Yes. Okay. So do you remember about what time you would have gotten to work on Wednesday, July 18th? 5.30 or 6, just like every other day. Okay. So early in the morning? Yes. Was there some weather issues on July 18th? No, not on the 18th. Okay. Were there weather issues at other times during the week while you were on that job? On the 19th, we got rained out.
So on the 18th, do you remember what time you got back from work? About 6 at night, 6 p.m. What did you do... whenever you got back to the hotel in Dubuque on July 18th around 6 p.m.? Just drank beers with the guys and hung out. Did you come back to Brooklyn for any reason? No. Would you have even had a chance to really do that? No.
Did you have any communication directly with Molly on the evening of July 18th of 2018? No. I had Snapchatted her, but she had not replied. Okay. So do you remember when you sent her a Snapchat? I don't remember the exact time of when I sent her a Snapchat. What time would you have gone to bed on July 18th of 2018? Relatively early, granted how early we woke up in the morning.
All right, and did you receive a Snapchat from Molly that evening? The last Snapchat that I received from her? Yeah. When did you actually open that Snapchat?
the like the next day okay and so you can a snapchat describe to the jury how that works whenever you receive a snapchat from someone how is it that you receive that message and how do you open it snapchat you get to open it and then it's set on a timer as soon as like 10 seconds or whatever the person that sent it elapses it just disappears and you can't reopen it
And whatever Snapchat you received from Molly, whatever time it was, had it been sent earlier? Yes. Did you just ignore the message, or did you not get it, or can you explain that for us? I probably just didn't even look at my phone. Okay. What were you doing on the evening of July 18th after you got back to the hotel?
Like I said, we was drinking beers with the friends of the crew and we were all hanging out. Okay. So whenever you're hanging out, are you doing other things? Yeah. We were playing like yard games. Okay. And whenever you're talking about how many people on the crew were there that would have been around you? the evening of July 18th.
There was actually two crews working in conjunction on that job, so it would have been like 15, 20 people or something like that. And were all 15 or 20 of the crew out at the motel having fun and doing these types of things that you described? Not every single one of them, but there was a good probably 10 or 12 of us out there. Okay.
Was there any bad weather on the evening of July 18th that would have rained out that party at all? Not that I remember, no. Okay. And do you remember what time you went to bed on July 18th of 2018? I do not remember what time I went to bed. Okay. Did you ever leave Dubuque? No. All right. Would you have had a roommate while you were at the hotel in Dubuque? Yes. Do you know who that is?
Brandon Gordy. Other than what you've described, Mr. Jack, did you have any other communication with Molly directly? No. The next day, so Thursday, let's move to that, July 19th, did you send Molly a message in the morning?
Yes, I sent her the same good morning message that I always send her. And what is that good morning message? Good morning, beautiful.
Like a kissy face or something like that. Okay. What platform would you have used to send that information? I would have texted that. Okay. Did you receive any response from her? No. Was that unusual? I didn't even notice. Okay. So you sent her the message, and then where'd you go? To work. Before we move on, I wanted to step back to the night before, okay? Let's talk about that.
On Wednesday night, did you open a Snapchat from Molly Tibbetts? Do you recall doing that? I don't remember, no. Do you remember telling the police that you opened it at a certain time? No. Okay. So would reviewing – I had you review your reports prior to testifying. Is that right? Yes. Would reviewing those reports help refresh your memory? Yes. All right. May I approach to do that, please?
You may. Thank you. This is page six, third – fourth paragraph. Does that help refresh your memory? Yes. Okay. So I'll ask again, Mr. Jack, had you opened a Snapchat from Molly on July 18th, Wednesday of 2018? Yes. And what time did you open it? 10.30 p.m. Okay. Was that the last communication that you would have observed from Molly Tibbetts? Yes. All right. Now, 10.30 p.m.
does not mean that's when you received the Snapchat, correct? Correct. All right. That's just when you opened it. Yes. Do you recall when you received that Snapchat from her? I do not. Do you remember the content of it?
yeah it was uh just a face with her caption and uh i don't remember what the caption said okay and could you tell from the photo what location molly was in uh in that photo on the snapchat uh it appeared she was in the living room of the uh blake's house okay so not outside no inside yes All right, let's go back then now to July 19th of 2018, which was Thursday.
Did you receive any communication from Molly Tibbetts on that Thursday? No. Describe for the jury, please, what your work day was on Thursday.
Our work day was we showed up, and then we were forming the joints, still continuing to do that. And then we ended up getting rained out because we had some pretty inclement weather there.
Okay. So when did you get rained out on Thursday? Do you recall the time? I'm not for sure on this, but I think it was around noon-ish. All right. And was the plan to stay and work Thursday if you could or Friday if you could? I think we waited it out for like 15 minutes and then we just went back to the motel. And that's what usually happens with...
crews in your type of work, weather interrupts it, correct? Yes. All right. Was the plan to come back to the job site and keep working on Friday the next day?
Yes.
Okay. So no plans to come home on Thursday, correct? No. All right. Did you receive at some point in time a call from one of Molly's friends?
Yes.
And did you learn some information from that that caused you to become worried? Yes. What was it?
I received a call from Emily Fenner, one of her coworkers at the daycare, and she said that Molly had not called or showed up for work.
And do you remember about what time you received that communication? 4.30 maybe? So it was in the afternoon? Yes. Prior to receiving that contact from Ms. Fenner, had you made other attempts to try to reach Molly Tibbetts on Thursday, July 19th? No, I was asleep. I was taking a nap. Because you'd been up early? Yes. Once you got that call from, or that communication from Ms.
Finner, did you become worried? Yes. And what did you do as a result of that?
I contacted pretty much everybody that I could think of to try to get a hold of Molly as well, as well as I called her own cell phone multiple times.
And had anybody had any success? Nobody had any success. Do you remember how many, I won't ask you who, but do you remember how many phone calls or texts that you made in an attempt to try to find where Molly was at? I do not remember the number, but it was a lot.
Mr. Brown, let me jump in and stop you there. We're due for a recess.
Okay.
Members of the jury, we'll take a 15-minute recess at this time.
Dalton, or Mr. Jack, we were just discussing the day, July 19th of 2018, the day that you came home. All right, so what were the circumstances whenever you left your job? Can you just describe what you told your boss, and how was it that you got back to Brooklyn?
I was just outright with him. I told him that I hadn't heard from Molly in a while, and I'm trying to get other people to find her, and they can't find her, and I just drove my own POV back to Brooklyn.
Your POV being?
Oh, my personally owned vehicle, sorry, my truck.
Did anyone come back with you from Dubuque? No. All right. And do you remember about what time it was that you got home on July 19th, 2018 on Thursday? It was dark. I'd say about 9 p.m. Okay. Describe where you went whenever you got home. I went straight to the house. Okay. To 622 West Des Moines?
Yes. To my brother's house.
All right. And describe what you saw there at the house whenever you arrived. There was like a crowd on the lawn.
An officer was already there taking statements from people. Did you talk to the police? Yes.
Do you remember the officer that you spoke to? Matt Simpson. Matt Simpson. Is he a sheriff's deputy in Poweshiek County? Yes. Did you make any other attempts on that evening to contact Molly? Yes. What did you do? Called her more, texted her more. Whenever you would call her, would you get voicemail?
No.
Would you get anything?
No.
All right. Did you have any contact with Molly Tibbetts? No. The following day, did you make attempts to contact her? I don't remember. Did you ever join in the search for Molly? Can you describe what it was that you did?
Me and my brother actually went out that night, and we drove around for a long time, and then we were just kind of checking everywhere that we can do. But then there was a more organized search put on by, like, the fire department and the police department before the whole thing went through. And then we, like, sectored out the city and all that fun stuff. Okay. Were you a part of that at all?
Yes.
Okay. So you joined in to assist? Yes. All right. Did you go back to work at Jasper during the time frame that Molly was missing? No. Okay. Did they give you the time off because of that? Yes. At this time, I don't have any further questions of Dalton Jack. Thank you.
Defensively cross-examined. Mr. Jack, good morning.
How long is it, again, since you've been in the Army?
I've been in the Army for almost three years now.
What was the date you joined?
November 6, 2018.
So three months after Molly's discovery, right?
Correct.
So did you ever go back to Jasper Construction to work?
Yes.
What was the decision to go to the Army based upon?
I wanted to pretty much leave for a while. Why? Because I grew up there. She grew up there. It's where we kind of built our relationship, and now she was gone.
You were heartbroken?
Yes.
Molly was your true love, right? I would say so, yes. You had planned on marrying this woman, right? Yes. And you were devoted to Molly, right? Yes. People described it as a true love story, right? Yes. Is that how you felt about her?
Yes.
You've told the jury here today about your activities in the days leading up to Molly's disappearance, and I want to explore those a little bit. If I understand you correctly, your testimony today is that on the night of Molly's disappearance, you were in your hotel room for a bit and then hanging out with the boys, drinking beers, playing games, right? Correct.
And that's your testimony today, correct? Yes. We're clear on that?
Yes.
That's not always the story you've given to the police, though, is it?
I don't know.
Well, did you not tell the police in a previous interview that you spent the night in your room watching movies? That was when I was, yes. Okay. Do you recall giving that statement? Yes. Okay. When did you give that statement to police? I don't know the exact time or date that I gave that statement. Well, let's come at it this way. How many times were you interviewed by police? A lot. Okay.
More than three? I would say so, I guess, yes. Okay. As I understand it, you first met with Matt Simpson on the 19th, right? Yes. And when you talked to Matt Simpson, that was at your home at 622 West Des Moines Street, right? Yes. And that was just kind of generally to give him the background of what was going on, right? Yes.
Now, you told Deputy Simpson that nothing really seemed to be out of place. Do you recall saying that? I don't recall saying that, but I could imagine that I did say that, yes. Have you reviewed any recordings or any reports relating to Deputy Simpson?
I reviewed the report, yes. Okay.
If Deputy Simpson's report says that's what you said, would you quibble with that?
No.
Okay. Now, do you recall having a conversation with Deputy Simpson saying that the bed was tousled and unmade, which was ironic? since Molly was the last one in it. Again, I don't recall that. But if Deputy Simpson says that, would you doubt that you made that statement? No. Okay. And then you talked with Detective Steve Kivy of the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office, I believe the next day, right?
Yes. And that was just in his truck. He's trying to help find Molly as well, right? Yes. Do you recall that conversation? I don't recall every detail of that conversation, no. Okay. Do you recall telling him what you were doing in Dubuque the night before? No. But do you recall, because your recollection has been refreshed by Mr. Brown, that on the 23rd,
or strike that, on the 18th you got a Snapchat from Molly and you opened it around 10.30 PM, right? Yes. Okay. You also told someone that the last time someone saw Molly was around 10.30 PM that night as well, right? I don't recall that. You don't recall saying that to someone? No. Do you recall telling police officers that you also went to bed both nights while you were in Dubuque around 10.30?
I don't recall that either.
Okay. Well, You were interviewed a final time by officers, and it was on July 27, 2018. Do you recall that interview?
I don't recall every detail of that interview, but I remember the interview, yes.
Okay. And that interview involved the agent Matt George. Do you recall that interview?
Yes.
You recall it involved an individual named Lara Ziesler?
I don't recall who that is.
Okay. You recall telling the agents that on the 18th of July, the night that you say Molly disappeared and that you were in Dubuque, that you finished work around 6.30 p.m., Do you recall telling them that on the 27th? No. Do you recall telling the agents that you showered and that night you watched Rush Hour 1 in your room? Is this the night of the 18th? Yes. Then yes. Okay.
Now your testimony today is that you were out with the boys playing games and drinking beers, right? Yes. So you told the officers on the 27th of July a different story, right? I suppose so. And if I showed you the report, would it refresh your recollection? Yes. You also told officers on that same interview information that you withheld before, right? Correct.
And that information that you withheld before was that you'd had a relationship with a woman other than Molly, right?
Correct. Overruled.
Who was that woman? Her name was Jordan Lamb. And what did you tell officers the reason you withheld that information? I didn't deem it necessary. You didn't deem it necessary? I didn't think that it was pertinent to the case. So you didn't think it was pertinent to tell law enforcement officers that you having an affair on your true love was not pertinent to the case, right? I was 19 years old.
So what? Sustained.
Explain to me what you mean by that. I was 19 years old. It was the beginning of the relationship, and I screwed up one time. Molly knew about it, and we got past it.
So it was the beginning of the relationship that you had an affair on Molly? Yes. So give me a time frame as to when you had this affair on Molly. What date?
I don't remember the exact dates, but it was about not even a year after we started dating. So give me a date. I don't remember the exact date. Give me an approximate date, please. August of 2017, I think it would be, or 2016.
All right, because the officers talked to you about it, and... You gave them kind of the details into how Molly learned about this, right? Yes. Molly was upset that you cheated on her, right? Yes. And you gave them the date of the fall of 2017, didn't you? Yes, I think. Again, this... relationship that you had with Jordan Lamb. Tell us how it evolved. How'd it start? I don't remember.
You started Snapchatting her, right? That sounds about right. Am I right or am I wrong? Yes, you're right. You started sending her Snapchats. Why'd you start sending her Snapchats? Why does anybody do anything that's wrong? I'm asking you that question. I don't know. You have no idea why you started sending a woman Snapchats? Correct. Well, you wanted to get with her, right?
I imagine that would be yes. Okay. Well, I don't want you to imagine. I want you to tell me why you did. Yes. You wanted to strike up a relationship with Jordan Lamb, didn't you? Yes. And this was in February. Strike that. This was late 2017, early 2018, right? Yes. Okay, so it wasn't 2016 like you just told me. I told you that I don't remember the dates. Okay, but now you do, right? Correct.
And you know that now because you've been confronted with these dates by officers, right? Yes. And you were confronted with these dates by Molly, right? Yes. So you do remember the dates right now, don't you? Yes. Two minutes ago you didn't remember the dates, right? I'm not exactly an argument. It's the state. So, these Snapchats,
The reason you use Snapchat was that you send a message and then it disappears, right? The reason I use Snapchat is because that was my primary form of communication with a lot of people. Okay. But also you use it because you send a message and it disappears and can't be seen by people who get on your phone, right? That wasn't what I stated in my previous statement. Okay.
So you're telling me that the reason you use Snapchat had nothing to do with the fact that Snapchat disappears after you send a message? Correct. Okay. Now... In these Snapchats, you're telling Jordan things like, she's the most attractive girl you ever met, right? I don't remember the content of the Snapchats.
Object to hearsay and relevance.
Sustained.
As to what ground? Hearsay. In these Snapchats, this is around the time Molly was getting ready to go visit her dad in California in March of 2018, right? I do not recall. Okay. And were you not telling Jordan that you were going to break up with Molly? I also do not recall. And you were pressing Jordan pretty hard for her to be your girlfriend, right? I also do not recall.
During this time, you had sexual relations with Jordan, right? Yes. You never told Molly that, did you? Molly knew. When did Molly know? Molly knew when she confronted me about it. And how did Molly find out that you were having sexual relations with Jordan Lamb? She went through my phone. Was asleep. She went through your phone? Correct. When? When I was asleep one night.
Was this before or after Jordan Lamb busted you by telling Molly? That was during. That's the reason she went through my phone. Okay. Okay. So you'd agree with me that Jordan Lamb messaged Molly to share with her what you had been doing with Jordan, right? Yes. And Jordan told Molly that you were trying to get with her, right? I don't object.
He's going to have no basis for that knowledge as to what Jordan told Molly. Sustained. Was there information on your phone about Jordan and Molly talking? I do not recall. Okay. But again, you didn't seem to think that this relationship with Jordan was relevant, right? Correct. Now, when you told Agent George about this, he told you he wanted to set the reset button with you, right?
I don't understand the question. Agent George told you it was time to set the reset button with you, and he wanted you to be 100% truthful, right? I don't recall. Okay. You also then were asked by Agent George... If there's anything else that you remembered about that day or that time in your life, do you recall that question from Agent George? I don't recall.
Do you recall from Agent George's conversation that you and he were talking about some mysterious man that you had just seen in Brooklyn? Yes. And describe that mysterious man that you told them about on July 27th. I believe that I was mowing the lawn and he just walked by.
He was tall, wearing baggy pants with a chain. That's what I remember currently. Dressed all in black. If that's what the report says, then yes.
And you had just recalled that that day as well? I don't know. Okay. You agree with me you've never given that report of a mysterious man wearing black walking around Brooklyn before July 27th?
The report of the man walking around Brooklyn was after Molly had already disappeared.
Okay. Would you agree with me that you probably knew Molly's running routes better than anyone?
No.
Who would know better?
I don't know who would know better, but I barely knew Molly's running routes.
Well, you testified on direct that you knew her running routes. I do know her running routes, yes. But now it's just you barely knew her running routes. I didn't know that she ran out to the blacktop. Okay. Now, I'm going to try to show you. What's been marked as defendant's exhibit Q for identification. Now, you turned over your phone for examination, right? Yes.
And that phone was examined, right? Yes. Was it returned to you? Yes. Were you given a copy of the report? No. Have you seen the report? No. It's your testimony, Mr. Jack, that on July 18, the day Molly goes missing, I just want to be clear on timeline here, that you texted her that morning. Good morning, beautiful. Correct. And did you text throughout the day with her? No. Pardon me?
One other time. On the 18th? Yes. And do you recall texting with her around dinner time? No. Didn't ask you if you had a better day today? I don't recall that, no. So this is the day your love of your life goes missing, and you don't recall that? No.
Did you not go back and try to recreate the day that your love of your life goes missing in an attempt to maybe figure out how she was wound up missing?
From the moment that it started, I knew that I was not an investigator of any sort.
Okay, but even for your own peace of mind, you didn't go back and try to recreate this? My own peace of mind came by trying to get her back. Okay. Did you not go back and look at your phone and look at your text messages and your Snapchats to just kind of rehash the days leading up to this? No. Not once? No. Okay.
Well, what is your understanding of the time that Molly would have been likely abducted? I don't understand the question. What is your understanding of the time of day on the 18th that Molly was likely abducted? Her normal running time is what I assumed. Okay, so no one's told you, you haven't done any investigation as to what time of day Molly was abducted.
Exactly. Every detail of the case I've wanted omitted from me because I don't want to know. You don't want to know? No. Okay.
All right, let's back up a little further then. July 16th is a Monday, right? Yes. We know that because the 18th was a Wednesday, right? Yes. Monday you didn't work in Dubuque? Monday I worked in Dubuque. Okay. So Monday night was a typical night. You were hanging out with the boys in the room, right? Yes. Who's your roommate? Brandon Gordy. And Brandon's a young man you grew up with?
I didn't grow up with Brandon Gordy. He's from Brooklyn though, right? Yes. But he was older than I was. Okay. Did you text and Snapchat Molly that night? Yes. What time did you go to bed? I don't go. Around 10.30? Sound about right? Sure. Is that your normal bedtime? Yes. Tuesday, you get up. What time did you go to work that day? Same time as always, 5.30, 6 o'clock, somewhere in there. Okay.
And you worked all day until about 6 o'clock that night, right? Yes. Long day. Yes. Now, is that the day that someone sprayed your car with some sealant? It was either Tuesday or Monday, but yes. Made you pretty upset? Yes. Okay. So upset that you wanted to quit, right? Yes. You wanted to go home and see Molly, right? Yes. But you didn't. Why not?
Because the pay benefits, what else was I going to do? Molly talked you out of it, right? Yes. And that night, did you hang out with the guys drinking beer? I don't recall. Okay. Well, if you told investigators you drank a bunch of beer that night and got drunk and was hungover Wednesday morning? Would that sound about right? Yes.
And that makes sense because you were angry and probably drank one or two too many beers, right?
Yes.
Who sprayed your truck?
I don't remember who sprayed my truck, but it was somebody on one of the other crews.
Okay. And you were upset with him? Yes. You told Molly you were upset with him? Yes. Okay. It was a Hispanic gentleman, wasn't it? Yes. Okay. And then on Wednesday, you went back to work and another normal day, right? Yes. And you don't recall Molly texting you at the end of the day and asking you if you had a better day? No, I don't. Okay.
And you don't recall texting Molly at 8, 18 or 8, 19 that night? No, I don't. You don't recall sending her a text message saying, my phone data straight up won't work? No, I don't. Okay. And it's your testimony that you opened a Snapchat from Molly at 10.30 p.m., right? Yes.
Would you agree with me that the Snapchat records that were retrieved by investigators would more accurately show those times than your recollection? Absolutely. Can you think of any reason in your mind why those records would show that you opened that last Snapchat at 1.30 a.m. on the 19th? I was just awake. Woke up in the middle of the night.
Okay, so if they show 1.30 a.m., that's accurate, right? If that's what the records show, yes. Okay, so your recollection of that could be faulty. Yes. You have no recollection of texting Molly at 8.18 p.m. on July 18th saying... My data straight up won't work. I don't. Last message you sent your girlfriend on the day she was abducted? Correct. Okay.
Now, on your phone, you have a number of apps, right? Yes. You have an Apple iPhone, right? Yes. On that Apple iPhone, you have things like Find My iPhone? Yes.
Tell me what Find My iPhone is. Find My iPhone, if you have paired the iPhones, allows you to find the other iPhone.
Okay. So, like, I have kids, and I can do Find My iPhone to find my kids and where they are at any given time. Did you have the same thing with Molly? No. So... You had Find My iPhone. Do you have anybody else on Find My iPhone that you could locate? No.
The way Find My iPhone works is if you're on the same phone bill, then you can do it, or if you pair them, you can do it. Me and Molly never paired, and we weren't on the same phone bill.
Okay. Would there be any reason why you were on Find My iPhone on July 18, 2018? I don't know. You don't know? I don't know. Who is on your Find My iPhone that you can locate at that time? Nobody. Okay. You also have Progressive for an insurance company, right? Not anymore, but at the time I did, yes. Okay. And that application was on your phone as well, right? Yes.
And that app would keep track of how you drove? Yes. Yes. And if you drove well, like you didn't speed or stop short or get in an accident, you would get rewarded for good driving behavior, right? Correct. Do you check that app often? No. But it would automatically kick in if your vehicle was on the move. Is that your understanding? Correct, yes.
Do you recall checking your progressive app that night? No, but I rarely swept up and closed my apps on my phone. Okay. But... Your understanding is of the progressive app, they call it Snapshot, right? Yes. Snapshot kicks in when your vehicle is on the move, right? Yes. And it's your vehicle, no one else's, right? No. And you're telling me that your vehicle on July 18th, 2018 was not on the move?
No. Nine o'clock that night, you were drinking beer with buddies and playing bags, right? Correct. You also have an app on your phone called Maps, right? Yes. Now, Maps, you can get directions or drop a pin and drive to someone's location, right? Yes. You've done that before, right? I've used Maps to get directions, yes.
Would there be any reason why you're using Apple Maps on your phone in the evening of July 18, 2018, after, let's say, 10 p.m.? Not that I can think of. If your phone activity shows that you were using Apple Maps that night, can you think of any reason why? That I would have not closed it. Okay. When was the last time you would have used Apple Maps, to your knowledge? To get up to Dubuque. Okay.
Now, who is Ulysses Felix?
Ulysses Felix was the, he's a kid that worked with Scott. Not worked with Scott, went to school with Scott.
You ever met Ulysses Felix? Yes. Did you know Ulysses Felix prior to Molly's death? I knew of him, yes. Pardon me? I knew of him, yes. Okay. Did you know where he lived? No.
Coach, I'm going to object again to this particular line of questioning outside the scope of the direct.
Overruled. Go ahead. Did you know where he worked? No. He's also a friend of Jake Tibbetts too, right? Yes. And this is the same Ulysses Felix that after Molly's death wound up living with Laura, right? Correct. Let's talk about you, young man. You consider yourself to have a temper? Not anymore. You did though at one time?
Yes.
Pretty angry young man? When I was about 17, 16, yes. Okay, so how old were you when Molly died? 20. When you were 17, 16, tell us about the temper that Dalton Jack had.
Jack Torellas. Go ahead.
I'm sorry, can you repeat the question? Tell me about the temper of the 16, 17-year-old Dalton Jack. It was not good. Short-fused. Like to fight? Yes. In fact, one time you choked a man out, right? I'm kind of jacked as...
This is improper character evidence, specific instance of conduct. This is not relevant.
Sustained on that ground. But you've been known to fight, right? Yes. And when you fought, your friends were right there with you, weren't they?
Yes.
They all had each other's backs, right? Yes. Those friends included Dylan Eichhorn?
Dylan Eichhorn was older than me, so no. How much older was Dylan? Dylan graduated with my older brother who was just in here.
Okay. You know Jackson Eichhorn?
Yes.
Is he a friend? No. He graduated with my younger brother. Okay. But you all know each other, right? Yes. You work with Dylan, right? Yes. Around the time that Molly was abducted or died, you told her a number of times that you thought you were depressed, right? Correct. And that manifested itself with anger, you said, right?
Three days, three days before Molly ends up missing, she told you that she was upset and sad because of your relationship with Jordan, right? Yes. The day before she ends up missing... You learned that she and Hope Beck had talked about your relationship with yet another woman named Tara, right?
Overruled.
I don't recall that at all. You don't know that? No. Either you don't know it or you don't recall it? Don't recall it. Okay. You told police that they asked you if Molly was jealous. You told them that there was a woman named Tara as well, right? If that's what the report says, then yes. I'm not asking what the report says. I'm asking what you said. I don't recall.
You don't recall telling the police about Tara? No. Was there a Tara? Yes. Okay, so there's another woman that you had at least some conversations with, right? Yes. That was during your relationship with Molly?
That was simultaneous to starting the relationship with Molly.
Okay.
And...
Who told you or got ahold of you first as Molly's friend about whether or not Molly was missing? Emily Finn. Also an old relationship of yours? Yes. Also a woman who made Molly jealous, right?
Objection calls for speculation.
Sustained. You and Molly had conversations in the weeks and month leading up to her abduction. about Emily asking about you, right? I don't recall that at all. There wasn't a time where Emily would be at parties and stuff and ask about you?
I don't know. Jack calls for speculation, calls for hearsay.
Sustained. Okay. Emily Fenner, when she texted you, because that's what she did, she texted you, right? She called me. She texted me and called me, yes. When she texted you, she asked you a very specific question, didn't she? I don't recall. She asked you, Dalt, because she calls you Dalt, right? Yes. And she said, Dalt, is Molly alive? Didn't she? I don't know. You don't know?
I don't recall the text messages. Okay. You'd agree with me that's an odd question to ask someone? Sustained. How long was it before Molly was abducted that she started wearing her promise ring again?
I don't recall.
Was it a week? I don't recall. Okay. What have you done to prepare yourself for testimony today, sir? I got off a flight yesterday, so very little. Okay. You know we're here on a charge of murder for the love of your life, right? Yes. And I'm getting a lot of, I don't recall a lot of you, right? Yes. And you want the man who did this brought to justice, right? Yes.
And you haven't thought about this and poured it over in your mind to have every detail remembered?
When I was asked if I wanted to be here voluntarily, I said absolutely not. So no. So you did not want to be here voluntarily? No, I didn't want to be in the same room as your defendant there.
Oh. So you didn't want to come give testimony to get justice for the love of your life? No. You wouldn't be here to fight for her? No. Okay. That's all I have, Your Honor.
Redirect? Yeah.
Don, let's be clear. You cooperated with me prior to trial to prepare you here today. Is that correct? Absolutely, yes. All right. We talked on the phone a number of times. Isn't that right? Yes. The reason why we wouldn't have met in person is because you're in the Army stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Yes.
Do you remember a time when this case was pending when you had been deployed overseas? Yes. Where did you go? Can you tell us? Iraq. All right. And whenever you were in Iraq, you communicated with me, correct? Yes. And it was mainly about the case, about when it was going to be scheduled, and that type of thing. Isn't that right? Yes. So you've always wanted to assist and do what you can.
Is that right? Yes.
sustained rephrase the question I can do that describe your level of describe you cooperated with us is that right yes all right and we sent you some reports correct to review I'll rephrase it. What did we... Sorry.
Sustained. Rephrase.
All right.
Tell us the reason, again, why you don't want to be sitting in this room right now. Because of the defendant being here. Okay. And why?
I'm obviously not his biggest fan.
Okay.
you were in a relationship with molly tibbets correct yes is that why you don't want to be sitting with this man right here correct because you think he's responsible for her death isn't that right speculation invades the profits of the jury well i'll sustain that but i'm going to allow mr brown to rephrase the question if he so chooses why do you not want to be sitting in this room with that guy with this man i wholeheartedly believe he's guilty
Whenever you went to Dubuque with Jasper Construction on the week that included July 18th, tell us how many people would you have been around that week that would have known you?
That would have known me? Yes. The entirety of my crew, which was seven people, and then there was a few on the other crew that I had worked with before, so I'd say probably 10 to 12 that knew me. Okay.
And in order to get from your home to Dubuque or to the job location, did you have to use any apps or applications on your phone? Absolutely. What was that? Maps, for sure. Okay. And on your phone, can you describe for the jury whether or not your phone keeps your trips in its memory? Yes, it does.
So if you would have entered the address that you were going to, the bridge or wherever it was you were working on the week that included July 18th, would that have been in your phone? Yes. And would you have utilized that to get to your job site? Yes. Bottom line, Mr. Jack, did you ever come home
between the time you left for your job on the week that included July 18th and when you got back on July 19th, did you ever come back to Brooklyn, Iowa? I did not. The relationship with Jordan, Mr. Freeze asked you about that. Do you recall that? Yes. How long did that last? About a day. Okay. Now, did Molly Tibbetts find out about that relationship? Yes. And had you two worked through that? Yes.
Did you ever break up over it? No. To your knowledge, did any of Molly's family members know about your relationship with Jordan? They do now. Okay. Did they know it back then? Not at the time, no. Well, let me be clear. Not at the time that it was happening, right? No, not at the time that it was happening. Did they find out about it later? Yes. All right.
Have you maintained a good relationship with Molly's parents, Laura and Rob? Yes. Despite the fact that you had had this brief relationship with Jordan?
Objection.
Relevance.
Let him finish the question. I'm sorry. Overruled. Go ahead. The witness may answer if he knows.
I'm sorry. Can you say the question again? Yeah. Did you maintain a good relationship with Rob Tibbetts and Laura Calderwood, Molly's parents, after this knowledge about Jordan came out? Yes. All right. It was in the past?
Yes.
Do you know the defendant, Christian Bahena-Rivera? No. Have you ever met him at all prior to July 18th of 2018? No. Did you know he drove a black Chevy Malibu? No. Have you ever had access to the black Chevy Malibu driven by Christian Bahena Rivera? No. To your knowledge, did Molly Tibbetts have any type of relationship with Christian Bahena-Rivera? No.
To your knowledge, did Molly Tibbetts have access to the black Chevy Malibu driven by the defendant Christian Bahena-Rivera?
No.
No connection between either you or Molly and the defendant. Is that correct? Correct. That's all I have. Thank you.
Mr. Fries, any recross? Mr. Jack, despite communicating with Mr. Brown from Iraq, Despite preparing with Mr. Brown while you're here, you still don't recall a lot of the pertinent facts, right?
Yes.
And that's because you're choosing to?
No, it's because it wasn't in the two reports that I received.
Oh, okay. You agree the facts you don't recall are ones that are not advantageous to you, right?
The job on object is argumentative.
That's sustained. As early as a month before Molly was abducted, you two were talking about breaking up, right? Yes. I do recall that, and yes. Okay. So things weren't all rosy between you and Molly in the last 30 days before her abduction, were they? No. And you didn't like the fact that if Molly was going to be leaving you and maybe going with someone else, that bothered you?
That would bother anybody, but yes.
Yeah. And it wasn't the first time that bothered you because you two were supposed to move in together in October 2017. Correct. And when she told you she was going to move in with friends, that got you angry as well?
Yes.
You didn't want her moving in with friends.
You wanted her moving in with you. I was upset that she went back on the plan that I had been going with for the last year and a half after that.
It made you very angry.
Correct.
Right? Yes. Did you ever tell Molly that you didn't like other men looking at her? Not that I recall, no. Okay. Okay. Sure about that?
Objection, Judge. Again, he's answered the question.
It's overruled. He can clarify if he needs to. Go ahead.
Sure about that?
Yes. Okay. That's all I have.
Mr. Brown, are we done with this witness? Yes, we are. Okay. Mr. Jack, thank you for being here. You're excused. All right. The state may call its next witness.
Could you state your name, please? Matthew William Simpson. And who is your employer? Palaszczuk County Sheriff's Office.
What do you do for the Sheriff's Office?
I'm a patrol deputy.
And were you on duty on July 19th, 2018?
I was.
And what shift were you working that day?
It'd be the night shift. It's 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.
And did you receive a missing person call when you were working that shift? I did. And can you describe that call for me?
I was called to the house of Blake Jack, I believe it was 622 West Des Moines Street in Brooklyn, Iowa, for a missing person.
And do you recall the approximate time that that report came in?
I believe it was 5.56 p.m.
Is Brooklyn in Poweshiek County? It is. And did you respond to that call? I did.
And who was on the scene when you first arrived? Blake Jack and I believe his girlfriend Allie, along with a couple other people that weren't identified.
Do you recall the approximate time that you arrived at the residence?
I don't recall approximate time.
And do you know who was living at 622 West Des Moines Street at that time?
Blake Jack, his girlfriend Allie, and Blake's brother Dalton. And I believe Molly Tibbetts had been staying there as well.
And who was identified as missing?
Molly Tibbetts.
When was the last reported communication that anybody had with Molly?
I believe I talked to her mom, Laura Calderwood, and she had conversation with her the previous night at 5.30 for a conversation about having supper. I believe that was the 18th.
And did you go inside the residence? I did. What did you observe in the residence?
A normal farmhouse where four 20-something, two couples were living. It wasn't unkept, but it was, you know, dishes in the sink, just a typical teenager house.
Did you find Molly Tibbetts at the residence? I did not. Did you see any sign of a struggle? I did not. Were there dogs at the house?
They had dogs that were pinned up in the basement.
And did you go to the basement to investigate? I did. What did you see when you were there?
I found the dogs pinned into a room. There was some dog poop on the floor. Blake had told me that was common, that the dogs were pinned up if anybody was out of the home. If somebody was in the home, they'd be let free.
Anything else of note that you discovered in the house?
I don't believe so. I looked in her room where she stayed with Dalton when they were home. There was nothing of consequences in the house. They advised me the doors were usually left unlocked. We did find a freshly delivered package at the front door. I believe it was FedEx that had dropped that off, and there was one by the side door by the garage that was delivered by the post office.
Did you seize any evidence?
I don't believe so at that time. Was anything noted as missing from 622 West Des Moines Street? I don't believe so. And did you go anywhere else to further your investigation aside from 622 West Des Moines Street?
I went to the home of Laura Calderwood, where Molly had also stayed. What's the address there? I believe it's 114 Bear Creek Drive. In Brooklyn? It is in Brooklyn.
And was anything noted as missing from that residence?
Laura recalled that her running shoes and earbuds were missing.
Did you do anything else to attempt to locate Molly on July 19th?
I had dispatch ping her cell phone number. I was advised later that it was either off or in a Rome state. I'd contacted my sheriff and also later contacted our investigator, Steve Kivy.
Did anyone report having seen Molly on July 18th, 2018?
I was advised, I believe it was Blake that stated one of the neighbors had seen him, seen her on the 18th. And I later spoke with that neighbor, Nate Hopwood, about seeing her the day prior. What was Molly reported to have been doing? Running past the residential area. And that was on July 18th? Yes.
How long were you in Brooklyn during your investigation?
I believe probably a couple hours. I'm not sure on specific time.
Did you ever contact Deputy Steve Kivy?
I did.
And who is he?
He's the investigator for the Pasadena County Sheriff's Office.
Did you have any other involvement in this case after you conducted the initial investigation?
I did not. And why is that? The following day, I was leaving on vacation, so I was out of the area for an extended period of time, and then my duties didn't bring me back into the case. Thank you, Deputy. I have no further questions for you.
Thank you, Mr. Claver. Defense may cross-examine.
So, sir, you received this call, and it's probably not unusual to receive a call that someone can't be located, is that right? Correct. Typically it doesn't end up like this and it ends up that it's closed fairly quickly, is that right? Correct. Here, you respond and you go directly to the 622 Des Moines Street house, is that right?
That's right.
When you get there, describe what you see.
A house sitting back from the roadway. There was, I would guess, six people there other than Blake Jack and his girlfriend at the time, Allie. There was starting to be a little bit of a commotion because they were worried about their friend.
So these people, and they're not disorderly, but they're worried and frantic. Is that right? Correct. So your job, first of all, is to kind of make everybody calm and to deal with what is a high conflict and emotional situation. Is that right? Correct. Was there anybody that was sort of a lead person that you talked with? At that point, it was Blake. He was home at the time. All right.
And Blake conveyed the information of what was going on. Is that right? Correct. When's the first time that you spoke with Dalton Jack? It had been later that evening. So he was not home yet, is that right?
Correct, I was advised he was in Dubuque driving home.
Describe your first contact with Dalton Jack.
Normal for somebody that, you know, boyfriend finds out his girlfriend's missing, he's concerned.
Was he crying?
I don't recall.
Was he talkative?
I don't recall.
Did he tell you when he last spoke with Molly?
I believe he said he'd gotten a Snapchat.
What time was that Snapchat at?
He'd opened it at 10.30 the night before.
Did he tell you when the last time that he spoke with her via text message?
I don't recall text message.
No further questions. Thank you.
Mr. Claver, anything of this witness?
No questions, Your Honor.