XPost: alt.fan.states.iowa, alt.politics.immigration, alt.journalism.newspapers XPost: sac.politics
The illegal immigrant accused of fatally stabbing 20-year-old
University of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts wasn�t
properly read his Miranda rights, recently-filed court documents
say.
Prosecutors admitted that an officer �inadvertently� failed to
tell Cristhian Bahena Rivera that anything he said could be used
against him when he was busted for murder around 11:30 p.m. on
Aug. 20 of last year, according to court filings reported by the
Des Moines Register.
His rights were properly read to him at around 5:50 a.m., as he
sat in a vehicle near the cornfield where Tibbetts� body was
found, the state said in the documents filed Friday.
Prosecutors agreed that any statements Rivera, now 25, made
between that time frame shouldn�t be used as evidence in his
trial, but argued that they could be used to refute testimony.
The defense argues they shouldn�t be used at all.
Defense lawyers also claim police deceived Rivera by promising
him that admitting to the grisly killing could be beneficial,
which they said can �induce false confessions.�
During Rivera�s interview, one of the officers told him: �Help
yourself, do it for yourself, think about you,� according to an
official transcript cited in court records.
�Think about your daughter that will need you. Right now, don�t
you see that little face of that little girl?� the officer added.
But prosecutors argue all the evidence points to Rivera as �the
killer, not a false confessor.�
Rivera was seen near Tibbetts when she vanished July 18, 2018
after going for a run in her tiny hometown of Brooklyn,
authorities said. Her blood was found in the trunk of his car,
they said.
He also led cops to Tibbetts� body at the end of the interview,
prosecutors said.
A judge is expected to decide what evidence will be allowed at
trial during a court hearing Tuesday.
https://nypost.com/2019/10/21/mollie-tibbetts-accused-killer-not- properly-read-miranda-rights-court-docs/
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