Crimeatorium
Part 6: The State of Iowa vs Cristhian Bahena Rivera | The Murder of Mollie Tibbetts
Sun, 12 Jan 2025
Part 6: Defense opening statement, defense witnesses. The courthouse was going through construction during the opening statement, the sound improves after that. Before 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:www.crimeatorium.comcrimeatorium@gmail.comCrimeatorium 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
Full Episode
The prosecutor got up and told you that this case is about Molly Tibbetts. And this case is about Molly Tibbetts. You all sat through some very disturbing pictures, some very disturbing testimony. You saw her body. should break for Molly Tibbetts. Your heart should break for her family. Molly Tibbetts deserves justice, her family deserves justice, but so does Christian Fajana Rivera.
The defense position is an interesting one because a lot of times you sat through jury selection and it was made a point several times that it's the job of the state to prove Oftentimes, you won't hear any evidence from the defense whatsoever. Oftentimes, the defense will just rely on the inconsistencies or the failure to investigate of the state. But that's not what we will do here.
We won't just rely on the failure of the state to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. We intend to bring you witnesses, and that's because you need to hear what they have to say. Ladies and gentlemen, this case is about a man that immigrated here from Mexico. You will hear about Christian's family circumstances and the reasons that he decided to come into this country.
You'll hear about the differences in Mexico, that it's not just, you know, $7.25 an hour versus $12 an hour that someone can make for an income capacity. that the differences between someone that is trying to find employment in Mexico and someone that is trying to find employment in the United States, it's a fraction that a person can make down there.
And although we've brought this case and we've talked about immigration, because we must embrace it.
We must embrace that the evidence here shows you that Mr. Bahena-Rivera came to this country. You can agree with it. You cannot agree with it. You can be Republican or you can be Democrat. But the evidence here that you must decide, the evidence here that you must rely on has nothing to do with that side issue. It's the black or the white socks that we talked about in jury selection.
And what we ask you to do is when you evaluate the evidence, to set that aside. It's not part of the case. It's not part of the elements. It's just a mere fact.
that you must rely on and what you must do is take all those other facts take all those other things whether you agree on them or you don't agree on them and to decide whether or not you believe the evidence can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt now let's talk about this interrogation
You heard Ms. Romero and I quibble between an interview and an interrogation.
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