Crimeatorium - The Murder of Mollie Tibbetts: Court Trial Part 2 of 8

Episode Date: June 26, 2026

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.This episode covers the court trial, edited for length and clarity. Look for part 3 tomorrow.Music:CO.AG Music https://www.youtube.com/@co.agmusic1823

Welcome to True Crime Stories with Crime-a-Trorian. Can you please state your name for the jury? Christina Stewart. And Ms. Stewart, how are you employed? I am a self-employed. I own a hair salon downtown Brooklyn. What's the name of your business? Share Expressions. And it's located exactly where?

Down on the one way, the main business district of town. In Brooklyn? Yep. And how long have you owned that business? It'll be 15 years this summer. And is it full-time work? Yes. Do you cut hair?

For the most part, yeah. Is that your job? Yeah. All right. Do you have other stylists that work for you? I've had a couple girls in and out over the years, but right now I'm the only one there. I just had my last one retire. Okay. Are you married? Yes.

Do you have children? Three kids. How long have you been married? Nine years. And can you tell the jury where you grew up? I grew up right outside of town on the 385th Avenue. I graduated from BGM in 2004. Right now I live in town, just a block up from my salon, a couple blocks up from my salon.

And did you go to college after high school? Yeah. Okay, where did you attend college? Capri and Cedar Rapids. Say that again? Capri College in Cedar Rapids. Okay. Was that to get your certification to cut hair?

Yep. Ms. Stewart, did you know Molly Tibbetts? Yes, I knew her and her family. Okay, can you describe what kind of relationship you had with Molly Tibbetts? Her and her brothers and her mom would occasionally come into the salon. Okay, and so she was a client of yours? Yeah, there was several times where I cut her hair and her brother's hair. Okay, and how long had you known Molly Tibbetts?

I remember when they moved to town, just, I mean, they came from California, so to move from California to Iowa is, you know, a little strange. no that's okay so thinking back when would how young would molly have been when you first met her i would guess maybe around 10 12 she was still a young girl yeah so you had known molly for quite some time yeah and did you ever see molly or interact with molly outside the the hair salon no just at work if you would see her on the street would you recognize her yes would you be acquainted enough that you would say hello? Yeah, or smile. And maybe talk about what was going on? Yeah, how are you? Okay. Ms. Stewart, I want to direct your attention back to July 18th

of 2018. You happen to remember that day, is that correct? Wednesday. Wednesday, correct. Yes. Yep. And where were you living with your family on July 18th of 2018? 403 Jackson Street in Brooklyn. Okay. And where were your parents living? 385th Avenue. Is that the farm that you grew up on? Yes. And what type of vehicle did you drive? I have a 2015 white Dodge Grand Caribbean. Okay. Now on July 18th of 2018, did you have plans to go to your parents' house at the residence near Brooklyn? Yeah. Okay. And what was the purpose of that visit? We had sweet corn for supper, so we always just took the scraps out to feed the horses. I mean, I have three kids, and I'm really close to my mom, so we're out there, you know, especially in the summertime, a couple times a week.

And whenever you went out to your parents on July 18th of 2018, did your children go with you? Yes. All right. How about your husband? Was he there? No. so whatever you would have driven from your home to your parents home describe if you recall the route that you used to get there so when i live on the main road that takes you through town so i just go straight down the main road and i take a right and that road minus a couple oops sorry there's a curve that just takes you straight up to the lock top sorry is the main road through

town what what street is that jackson street is the street that i live on that takes you did you go up to uh west east des moines street yep sorry i'm sorry don't get ahead of me hang on a second so what street would you have taken out of town towards your parents at least to begin with i pulled out of my driveway onto jackson street and then i took a right onto east des moines street okay and east des moines goes east through uh east and west through brooklyn is that a yes yes Okay. And you would have eventually then ended up on 385th? Yes. And that's the road your parents lived on?

Yes. All right. Do you remember about what time of night or evening that you went to your parents on 385th? It was about 745. Okay. Did you happen to be looking at a watch as you were driving through town? No, not exactly. But I wanted to get out there before, you know, it got too dark. Okay. So you left your house at about a little before 745, would that be accurate? Right around there, yeah. And how long does it take you to get out to your parents' house?

For like four minutes. What was the weather like on the evening of July 18th of 2018? It was nice, nice day, clear weather. All right. And as you drive out on 385th, what direction do you go towards your parents? East. And was the corn up in the fields? yes okay and as you go out on 385th we'll look at a map here in just a minute but as you go out on 385th is there any curves or turns in that road there is a couple yes okay

can you describe those for the jury please so right before east des moines hits 385th there's a curve that takes you out on to blacktop and right before my parents house there is an s curve okay right before there and after the s curve is your parents residence where where you enter yeah is it what side of the road is it on the left side the north now on july 18th of 2018 that shortly after 7 45 p.m were you driving east on 385th towards your parents yes And as you were driving east on 385th, did you notice any person on the side of the road? Yes. Can you please describe for the jury who you, or what you saw?

A younger woman. Okay. And did you recognize that person? Yes, I did. Okay. And who is that? Molly Tibbetts. What was she doing? She was running eastbound. On 385th?

On 385th. And how was Molly dressed? She was wearing black spandex shorts with a bright pink sports bra, and she also had the armband that held her phone. And did you notice anything about her hair? I noticed her hair. It was like a low ponytail. And did you recognize her as Molly Tibbetts?

Yes. How is it that you could recognize her from driving past her on 385th from the back? How is it that you could do that? Just from seeing her around town, knowing who she is, she's not a stranger. Had you seen Molly Tibbetts out jogging prior to July 18th of 2018? Had you ever seen her before jogging? No, I mean, not on that road, no. Okay.

Did you pass her? Yes. All right. Where was she running, on the blacktop or on the side of the road? Do you know where she was at? There's no, like, gravel shoulder, so it's just blacktop. Okay, and where exactly did you see her in relation to the S-curve on 385th? It would have been right before the S-curve.

Okay, and did you notice anything else unusual with Molly Tibbetts? No. Was she running? Just running. All right, and did you see any other vehicles or any other persons around Molly Tibbetts? No. Did you wave or honk at her in any way? No.

um just to make sure we close this circle was there anything unusual about molly or her surroundings that you noticed at all no she just looked like she was going for a nice peaceful run now once you passed molly tibbets where did you go i went to my parents and how long were you there I would say between 30 and 45 minutes. And after being at your, it was a supper visit, is that correct? We went out after we had ate, so. So you left about 30 to 45 minutes later? Yeah, I would say.

And whenever you left your residence, how did you go back, or I'm sorry, whenever you left your parents' residence, how did you go back to your home in Brooklyn? The same way that I went out there on East Des Moines and then south on Jackson. And whenever you returned to your home, was it still light outside? Yes, barely, probably outside. Did you notice anything unusual when you left your parents? No. So when you went back home, no Molly Tibbetts, right?

No. I'm going to show you a diagram. Can you see that on your screen? Yep. i know there's some other markings on this screen but on this map is 385th avenue is that right correct is that the road that you're familiar with that you just described yes this is boundary which is a street in brooklyn would you agree with me yes as you go up boundary you can take a right onto 385th yeah that would be the first curve like first little curve okay and then you

you go around the curve? Yep, another curve. And this is headed out towards your parents, is that correct? Correct. All right. We have marked on the map, we've met with you before trial, correct? Correct. And you helped us pinpoint where it was that you believe that you saw Molly Tibbetts, is that right? That's right. Is that marked here on the map accurately? It is accurate. So where my laser pointer is, who did you see at that location? Molly Tibbetts. And what is this area of the county blacktop here? That is the S curve. All right, just to be clear, and using this map, which direction would Molly Tibbetts have been running whenever you saw her on July 18th of 2018?

Eastbound. So she would have been running towards the curve. Correct. I'm going to show you what's also been introduced as State's Exhibit No. 6. this is a little bit further east of that location is that right that's right does it accurately show the location where you observed molly tibbets running on july 18th of 2018 yes and my laser pointer is on a property here uh what is that that is my parents house so that's where you would have stopped yes all right now this is a gps map would you agree i agree all right how

would you describe the terrain in this area from the top from the spot where molly was sighted by you out into this area where your parents house is how would you describe the road is it flat is it hilly how would you describe it there's just one hill the hill that i saw her would be the steepest hill to my parents and then there's a farm past my parents that has just a couple little hills okay so the hill that you're talking about is here where I've got the pointers yes okay and this farm that is uh east of your parents yes is that even is that lived in this no there's just some grain bins and a couple barns so nobody resides a farm sorry sorry that's okay just a farm no house we can't both talk at the same time with the carpenter so let's go back to July of 20

july 18th of 2018 would anyone have been living in this area or this location that's on 385th no so it would have just been the grain bins and no residents correct okay and i just want to ask you if you know as you go further out on this road have you been out to this location yes yeah all right there is an intersection that's here do you see that is that a yes yes all right does the blacktop continue this direction no it does not describe the roadways that are here at this intersection so right where the roads meet the blacktop ends and there's a gravel road it turns into gravel if you keep going east it's a gravel road if you go north and south there's a property here do you see that where my laser laser pointer is is this a farm property yes and this uh family

or does anyone reside at that property? Yes. Back in July of 2018, there were no other residents other than what we see here on the south side of 385th. Is that true? Correct, yes. Ms. Stewart, the next day, on July 19th of 2018, did you receive any information that Molly Tibbetts was missing?

Yes. What was the source of your information, if you know? My sister had sent me a text message message asking if i heard about molly and do you remember when you got that text message yes my heart sank because i knew that i passed her okay when did you actually receive the text message from your sister if you recall i would say it was about 24 hours exactly later than when i had saw molly last so the next evening yes all right and you said your heart sank yes because you'd seen her tonight correct all right what did you do as a result of receiving that text message and

reacting in that way I um jumped in my car and I said we're going I'm gonna go out on blacktop and drive around to see if I can see anything uh did you go out and do that yeah I went and I picked her up so I had her and then my friend lives right across the street from my sister so her daughter was with me as well along with my three kids and I'd say we drove around for a good hour until it got dark. Okay and where did you drive around? Back and forth down Blacktop. That map that you just had pulled up we went north and south and east on those gravels. Did you find anything? Nothing. See anything unusual? No but the Wednesday night it rained a lot and we didn't see anything. Okay well that's I'm asking about that so after you got back from your parents on

July 18th of 2018 after you'd seen Molly that evening did a storm move through? Yes. And did it dump a lot of rain? Yes it did. Okay the next day was it difficult to get around at all on the roads that you were on looking for Molly? No. After you and your other friends had done this search did you then report your information to law enforcement yes okay and was it that same day on July 19th of 2018 it was Friday so on July 20th and how was it that you communicated with law enforcement I had just heard that nobody had heard of her so I directly called the sheriff's office and reported that I had seen her jogging on Wednesday night and then did somebody talk to you about that? Yes. And who was that? Joel stopped into my salon, I would say probably

20 minutes after I got off the phone. Joel Vanderleest? Yes. And who is Joel Vanderleest? He is an officer with the Poshy County. Okay. Did you report to Deputy Vanderleest what you testified to here today? I did. Do you know anything else about the disappearance of Molly Tibbetts. No, I don't. All right. Thank you. Ms. Stewart, I don't have any further questions. Defense may cross-examine. Thank you. Mr. Brown, would you mind bringing Exhibit 5 up? Yes. Thank you. Ma'am, I'm going to ask you a couple questions about that, but I've got a couple things before that. How did it feel to get that text message from your sister just a day after you saw Molly Tibbetts running? I was really worried about her. Do you remember where you were?

When I received the message? Yes. Yes. I was at home just sitting on my deck. All right. It was probably a pretty surreal memory for you. I remember this day like it was just yesterday. Now, your salon is just kind of right around the same area of this. Is that right? No, that's not my salon on the map. I'm sorry. Your salon is downtown. Is that right? Correct. So explain to me again, it was 385th Street or Avenue that you were driving out. Is that correct? Yes. At some area here, I believe that there is a cemetery.

Is that correct? Yes. Could you explain for the jury using the street names where the cemetery is? Okay. So you see the East Des Moines Street, basically where there's a 90 degree angle would be like where the cemetery is. Right under Boundary Street, like that siding, right? So it would be...

It's almost like a dead-end road. Right, so it would be the intersection of Boundary Street and East Des Moines Street, is that right? No. Okay, tell me that. So it would be at the end of Des Moines Street, is that correct? Yes. Basically where East Des Moines Street ends. There's a cemetery.

All right, okay. So just right where the cursor is. Is that correct? Yes. All right. Thank you, Mr. Brown. Ma'am, did you notice anything else unusual that you haven't mentioned? No.

I didn't see anybody else out there. I'm sure you're aware now that there's alleged to have been a black Malibu that's involved. Correct. Did you see that vehicle, whatever? No. Thank you. Not that night. Thank you.

No further questions. Mr. Brown, anything else of this witness? No further questions. Thank you. State calls Arely Lorenzana. Would you state your name please? Arely Nunez Lorenzana. And could you spell that for me? A-R-E-L-Y last name N-U-N-E-Z hyphen L-O-R-E-N-Z-N-A. How old are you? 27. Are you employed? Yes. Where do you work? Iowa Premium in Tama. What is Iowa Premium? A beef pack plant. And how long have you worked there? Four years in August. Do you live in Tama?

Toledo, no. Is that near Tama? Five minutes away. Do you know Christian Bahena Rivera? Yes. How do you know him? We're related cousins. How long have you known him? 10 years. Ms. Lorenzana, have you ever owned a black Chevy Malibu? Yes. And when did you acquire that vehicle? 2015. Did you purchase it with cash? No, I got a loan. And why did you buy that car? For Mr. Christian. Christian Bahena Rivera?

Yes. And did you give it to him as a gift? No. How did it come about that you made that purchase for him? He asked me if I could get him the car he needed for transportation. He approached you about purchasing the car for him? Yes. And where did you purchase the car?

West Finch in Grinnell. Did you register as the vehicle owner? Yes. Did you ever use that Chevy Malibu? No. Did you know that Chevy Malibu to be the exclusive vehicle of Mr. Christian Bahena Rivera? Yes. Were you aware of anyone else driving that car?

No. Did you have an arrangement with Christian Bahena-Rivera for payment on that vehicle? He would, every month, he would give me the payment, but it was cash. There was no other. And how were those payments made? Would he physically come to your house and hand you the payment? Yes. Did you have insurance on the vehicle?

Yes. Did you communicate with Christian Bahena-Rivera by phone, text message, anything like that? Yeah, text message or Facebook. Did you socialize with him at all? Yeah. And what types of things would you do when you were with him? Mostly it was family gatherings. Did you know where Christian Bahena Rivera lived?

Yes. Where did he live? In Brooklyn, Iowa, on a trailer. Did you know where he worked? The farms. Can you say that again, please? The farms. What farms were those?

do you know? It was in Brooklyn. I don't remember the name. Yarrabee Farms? Yeah. Had you ever been to the defendant's house in Brooklyn? Yes. When was the last time you were there? When he first moved over there. I don't know the date. Do you remember when he first moved to that Brooklyn address? No. Did law enforcement at some point in time ask for your permission to search that black Chevy Malibu? Yes. And do you recall when that request was made? In August of 2018. And did you grant permission to search that car? Yes. Ms. Lorzana, I'm going to show you some photographs here. Exhibit 38. There's actually two images on the screen, Exhibits 38 and Exhibit 39. Do you see those? Yes. And what's depicted in those images? The car. When you say the car, can you

be more specific for me? The back and the front of the car. The black Chevy Malibu? Yes. Is that the car that you bought for the defendant? Yes. And how do you know that? The plates. I recognized them. And how do you recognize the plates? The number of the plates. Is that the number that you registered for that vehicle? Yes. I'm going to show you a couple more photographs. Exhibits 40 and 41. Do you see those? Yes. And are those images of your black Chevy Malibu? Yes. And I'm going to show you exhibit 42. Do you see that? Yes. And what's depicted in that image? Mirror, chrome mirror. And is that your black Chevy Malibu? I don't remember having being that there. Okay. Is that something that the defendant would have added after you purchased the vehicle?

Objection. Speculation. Sustained. Ms. Lorenzano, when you purchased the vehicle, is the chrome mirror something that was on the vehicle? I don't recall. No further questions, Your Honor. The defense may cross-examine. Ma'am, I got the privilege to meet you just outside of the hallway. Is that right? Yes.

We shook hands. Yes. other than that you and i have never met is that right no you've never met mr freese is that right no were you subpoenaed for this today yes so a sheriff came and served you with a subpoena is that right before when they got postponed yeah but right now no okay somebody else served you with the subpoena and that said that you had to be at court today is that right now christian uh You're familiar with his family, is that right? Yes.

How are you two related? My mom's side. So your mother is his... Aunt. All right. And his parents are still down in Mexico, is that right? Yes. And you're aware of that through family knowledge, is that right?

Yes. Did you spend time with Christian and his daughter? Yes. Rejected, Your Honor. This is outside the scope of your examination. Sustained. You did go to family gatherings with the family, is that right? Yes.

How often would you spend time with Christian? Before he moved to Brooklyn, we were close. We would spend afternoons together talking or whatnot. But after he moved to Brooklyn, no. Christian uh he has a fair amount of family in the Tama Toledo area is that right yes overruled go ahead I'm going to go ahead and say the question again so Christian he has a fair amount of family in the Tama Toledo area is that right yes in fact he lived there for a period of time is that right yes how long and and I'm not going to hold you to it but how long do you

Do you recall him living in the Tama-Toledo area? I don't remember that time, to be honest. Would it be more than a year? Yes. More than two years? Yes. Maybe, maybe not. When he was living in that area, was he working at the

Yerrabee Farms? No. Do you recall where he was working? In Blairstown at a dairy farm. Well, I'm assuming that you don't make a business of buying vehicles for other people. Is that right? No. Have you ever done this sort of thing for someone before?

No. Why is it that you did it for Christian? Because he's my cousin, and he needed a way of transportation. Why wouldn't he be able to buy the vehicle himself? Because he wasn't able to. Uh, it would have to do with him not, uh, having papers. Is that right? Yes. Now, Christian, have you had any problems with him paying you for this vehicle? No. What was the car payment for it? 300 or more. Well, let's call it 300 or a little bit more per month. Is that

right? Yes. And so you would make that payment yourself, is that right? Yes. And then Christian would make the payment to you? Yes. Did he make sure that those payments were timely? It was always first of the month, he would always take the money. So you never had a problem with him with squabbling about money? Never. Was he grateful to you for helping him so that he would have transportation. Yes. Did he thank you several times? Yes. And did he make sure that through being timely and taking the money to you, that you were shown how grateful he was? Yes. Have you ever known Christian to be a violent man? Objection, Your Honor. Improper character evidence sustained. Have you ever had any bad interactions with Christian Bahena Rivera? Objection,

Your Honor, same reason. Sustained. No further questions. State having to redirect. Ms. Lorenzana, how many payments did the defendant make on his vehicle? We purchased it for $13,000, and I finished paying $5,000 afterwards, but I don't remember the amount exactly. So the loan was for $13,000? Mm-hmm.

Is that a yes? Yes. It was a period of six years, I believe. And I paid it in 2020. When was the last time you saw the defendant before August of 2018? In July, it was a family gathering. July 2018? Yes.

And where was that family gathering? The Tama Barroom in Tama. Nothing further, Your Honor. Any recross? Yes. This family gathering was, I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you said. It was a birthday party. Who was the birthday party for?

It was his aunt's husband. And his aunt is who? Romana Bonita. How many family members were there? All of them. Do you remember when the tornado came to Marshalltown? Yes. Do you remember if it was before or after that?

It was before. Now, at this family gathering, did everyone seem happy? Yes. Did Christian seem happy? Yes. Were there any issues with him fighting or arguing? No. Did he ever mention to you that he had a date coming up?

Yes. And the date would be with who? I don't know the name. Just that he had a date with a woman? Yes. No further questions. Anything else for this witness? No questions, Your Honor.

Our next witness is Mike Fishels. Agent Fishels, can you please state your name for the record? Michael Fishels. And how are you employed? I'm a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. And how long have you been a federal agent? Since 1996, about 25 years. Can you just describe your duties with Homeland Security?

Duties include enforcing Title 18, Title 19, Title 21 of the United States Code, enforcing the Immigration and Nationality Act. Those codes involve drug smuggling, drug trafficking, alien smuggling, alien trafficking, shipping in and out of the United States, counterfeit goods, and, of course, immigration offenses. Okay. What's your current duty station? Cedar Rapids, Iowa. And how long have you been there? Since 2005. Do you speak Spanish?

I do. How would you rate your proficiency? I consider myself proficient in the language. If there was a native Spanish speaker, could you carry on a conversation with that person? Yes. When did you become involved in the investigation relating to the disappearance of Molly Tibbetts? I received a call for assistance from the DCI on August 19th of 2018. And what was your role to be in the investigation?

The DCI had notified me that they were requesting our assistance from our agency for the following day on the 20th to canvass a couple areas in the area, specifically Yerby Farms. Was there any particular person that was identified to you that you were to be looking for in this canvass? During a briefing prior to going to the Irby Farms, they had told us that there was a vehicle that had been spotted, a vehicle of interest, and that they were looking for that vehicle and a potential driver of that vehicle. Did the potential driver of that vehicle have a Spanish name? Yes, he did.

And what was that? Christian Bahena Rivera. Maybe you mentioned this already. What was the type of vehicle that you were to be looking for? It was a black Chevy Malibu. All right. So where did you go then on August 20th of 2018 in order to assist in the investigation? We went to the Powshey County Sheriff's Office for a briefing, and after that, we departed the Sheriff's Office for Yarrabee Farms. All right. And how many officers were present at the briefing at the Sheriff's Office?

I can't say exactly. Maybe 20 to 25. So if you were going down to Yarrabee Farms to canvas, that means what exactly? To speak, one, with the company to start with, two, to speak to the employees or other individuals that may be on the property about the vehicle, about the disappearance, and anything that the DCI was seeking at that point. And in addition to that, you were hoping to find Christian Bahena-Rivera? Yes. Is this Mr. Bahena-Rivera, the defendant, somebody that you knew prior to the 20th of August? No. What time did you go to Yerby Farms on August 20th of 2018?

I believe it was about 1 or 1.30 in the afternoon. And whenever you arrived at the farm, tell the jury what you first did. I sat in my vehicle while agents from the DCI contacted the company owners. Once they were contacted, we were given the go-ahead that we could speak to anybody on the property, including the employees. At that point, I went with a DCI agent and began to speak to employees at the farm. Was that agent Scott Green? Yes, it was. So you did not enter the property of URB Farms to talk to any workers without permission?

Correct. Which you say that you were granted, correct? Yes. At some point while you were at URB Farms, was the defendant located? Yes, he was. Was he located by you or other officers? Other officers. Were you provided a central location at URB Farms in order to speak to the people that you needed to speak to in the canvas?

Yes, we were. And where was that? It was a building that was centrally located on the farm, kind of a big open room. I believe I saw like a time clock there, a place for employees to hang up their coats. It also had what appeared to be a break room and maybe like a small locker room for boots and shoes. Did this provide adequate space for you to speak with the farm workers? Yes. At some point while you're at this central location, this room you described, did the defendant arrive?

Actually, he was there when I arrived at that building. Okay. So where was he, the defendant, whenever you first arrived at the building? He was standing with other employees in the larger room of that building. Did you speak to him first, or did you speak to others? I didn't speak to any of the other employees there in that room. I only spoke to him in the little break room, which was separated from the big room. And were you able to speak to him in Spanish?

Yes, I was. Were you able to understand the defendant? Yes, I was. Did he appear to understand you? Yes, he did. How would you describe his demeanor at the time that you encountered him at the building that you just described? He was calm, not nervous, cooperative. And the room that you met with him in, was it separate from the larger room?

Yes, it was. Were you in there with him by yourself or with other officers? I was in there with another DCI agent. Was that Scott Green also? No, it was not. Initially, did you discuss with the defendant vehicles that were associated with him? Yes, we did. There were two, correct?

Correct. You had indicated earlier that you were looking for a black Chevy Malibu, but was there another car that was associated with him? Yes. That day he was driving a Nissan Altima, which was parked at the farm. Is that the first you'd heard of a Nissan Altima was whenever he told you what he was driving? Yes, it was. Did you ask the defendant where the black Chevy Malibu was located? We did ask him about the black Chevy Malibu.

And what did he say? He stated that the Malibu was parked at his residence or his trailer, which was located just down the road from the farm. And do you know how far his trailer was from the farm location where you were at? As he described it to me at that point, it was only about five minutes down the road. Did you obtain consent to search the black Chevy Malibu? Yes. Who provided that to you?

Mr. Bahena-Rivera. Did you also obtain consent to search the Altima if that became necessary? Yes. And who provided you that consent? Mr. Bahena-Rivera. Okay. Was there any other consent with regard to his residence that he maintained near the farm? Mr. Bahena-Rivera actually told me during the interview that he had received a phone call

from someone seeking permission to search the trailer and or the Malibu, and he granted that permission or consent to search, but I don't know who he talked to. So he had consented to have you search his trailer as well? Correct. Or his residence, I should say? Correct. So after the forms were signed, after you obtained the defendant's consent, did you ask him to come to the sheriff's office to be interviewed?

Yes. What was his response to that? He agreed to come down to the sheriff's office and continue an interview. So did you have a discussion with him as to who the black Chevy Malibu was registered to? Yes. What did he tell you with regard to that? He said that the Malibu was registered to a female, his cousin, by the name of Arely. Agent Fishels, did you also talk or was there any discussion with the defendant while you were in his presence about Molly, Molly Tibbetts?

Yes. Did you or someone else in your presence ask him if he knew her? Yes. What was his response? He stated that he did not know her. He had not seen her, but he mentioned something about Facebook. Was he asked a subsequent time whether or not he had known or been in the presence of Molly Tibbetts? Yeah, I believe he was asked again.

And what was his response? I don't remember. I remember him specifically just saying that he did not know her. Agent Fishels, did you have any participation in the subsequent interview of the defendant at the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office? No, other than taking an index fingerprint of Mr. Bahena-Rivera while he was in the interview room there. I did not participate in the interview. Okay. did you continue to assist in the investigation yes that's all i have thank you very much

the defense may cross-examine thank you agent officials just so i'm clear mr bahena was cooperative right that's correct you wanted to search his car and he said okay correct that's correct you asked him who the car was registered to and he was truthful about that correct that's Correct. He told you about a second car, the Nissan Altima, and that was true, correct? Correct. And before he even left his employment, he had granted someone permission to search his home, correct? Correct.

And he had been made aware that this search was somehow connected to the disappearance of Molly Tibbetts, correct? I didn't make him aware of that. Whether he assumed that or not, I don't know. Well, at least the name Molly Tibbetts had come up in conversation. That's correct. And were you the one who asked him for a cheek swab? No, sir. But he gave a cheek swab, correct?

I don't know. Are you aware of any other employees at Yerby Farms that day gave a cheek swab? I'm not aware. Now, when you asked Mr. Bahena to go to the sheriff's office, you recall that conversation, correct? Yes, sir. His employer was there as well, was he not? Yes. And Mr. Bahena agreed to go to the sheriff's office, but he wanted to clear it with his employer, correct?

That's correct. Do you recall the conversation that Mr. Bahena said he would go so long as his employer approved, correct? Yes, sir. And his employer said he wanted to clear it with Mr. Mahaffey, an attorney in Montezuma, right? Yes, he said he was going to call Mr. Mahaffey. And you then conveyed that to Mr. Bahena, right? Yes. You also told Mr. Bahena that he will call the attorney of your company for you as well.

You don't need it, but for him he wants to. Isn't that what you said? Yes, sir. So you told Mr. Bahena he didn't need a lawyer. I told him he didn't need the company attorney. Okay. And after that, Mr. Bahena went to the Powisheet County Sheriff's Office and gave a statement. Yes, sir.

That's all I have. Thank you. Steve, do you have anything further this way? One other thing. Whenever you talk to the defendant about, or somebody in your presence, talk to the defendant about Molly, do you recall that? Yes, sir. He was asked specifically, do you know her? What was his response?

I can't recall specifically or exactly what he said. That's okay. Can I please approach the witness to refresh his memory? You may. Agent Fishels, the question was, do you know her? What was his response? No, I have never seen her. And then there was a clarification question, did you see her at any time?

Do you recall his response to that? No, I don't. All right, I'll let you look at that as well. So the question was, does that refresh your memory? Yes, it does. Did you see her at any time, and what was his response? No, not at any time. He also said just on the television, is that correct?

Correct. Any recross? No, sir. Sir, thank you for being here. You're excused. State calls Scott Green. Could you state your name, please? Scott Green.

Who do you work for? Division of Criminal Investigation. And what do you do there? I'm in Special Enforcement Bureau, which is currently the Gaming Bureau for the state of Iowa. And how long have you held that position? Eleven years. Agent Green, on August 20th of 2018, were you asked to assist in a canvas of Yerby Farms? Yes, I was.

Do you recall when you went, approximately what time you went to the farm? On that day, approximately 1.39 p.m. And what was the purpose of that canvas? To conduct a canvas of the farmhands and workers that currently are working at the Yardley Farms. And were you looking for any person in particular? Yes, we were. We were looking for a subject named Christian and then looking for a black Malibu. Were there other agents with you? Yes, there were.

Do you know who they were? Yes, I do. Approximately how many agents were with you? approximately six to seven did you get permission from the farm to talk to its employees yes we did did you find Christian Bahena Rivera at the farm yes we did do you speak Spanish very little did you have any conversations with the defendant at your B farms just when I was taking and giving him a ride to the Sheriff's Office. We talked just about the weather and that's about it. When I go back to the farm

prior to your transport of the defendant, did you find anything of interest at the farm? I was doing an interview with a farmhand and then that farmhand identified that Christian Rivera was going to be found in the milk parlor about 30 yards away and identified a vehicle that he had driven to that property. And what vehicle was on the property? Brown Nissan Altima. Did you search that Altima? Visually did a search of the interior. Was there anything in the vehicle at that time? There were running shorts in the front seat and like a great pipe in the back seat. And Agent Green, you said you transported the defendant to the Poweshake County Sheriff's office? Yes, I did. Were you requested to do that? Yes, I was. Was anyone else in the vehicle with

you? Special Agent Joe Arian. And do you recall approximately what time you left Yarrabee Farms? About 3.15 p.m. And how long did it take for you to get to the sheriff's office? Approximately 20 minutes. Did you have any conversations with the defendant during that time? No. when you arrived at the sheriff's office what did you do we went into the main lobby area where he was taken took a seat and then i took a seat to do uh finish my paperwork that i was working on was anyone else present in the lobby i know joe erring went back into the sheriff's office to talk with the case agent was the defendant offered anything to eat or drink Yeah, a short time later, he was offered, I believe, a pop or a water.

And you recall approximately how long you were at the sheriff's office? Approximately 20 minutes or so. And where did you go when you left the sheriff's office? We returned back to the Yarby Farms. And where was the defendant when you left the sheriff's office? Last time I saw him, he was in the lobby. Was any other law enforcement personnel sitting in the lobby prior to you leaving? No, there was not.

Do you recall the approximate time you left the sheriff's office? Not off the top of my head. I would figure it's like 345, close to 4 o'clock. Nothing further, Your Honor. Defense may cross-examine. Agent Green, when you left Yerby Farms with Mr. Vahena, he didn't take his own vehicle? No, he did not. Why not?

I had no idea. I was asked by Joe Aaron to ride him a ride to the sheriff's office. That's common practice for agents to give them a ride in their squad vehicle or their state-issued vehicle, right? We have done that, yes. More common than not, right? We do have done that, yes, in the past. So in this situation, when Mr. Bahena got to the sheriff's office,

he's 20 minutes from his vehicle, right? Correct. Now, did you take a DNA sample from Mr. Bahena? I did not. You were present for a DNA swab that was taken from another individual, though. Yes, I was. Who was that? The gentleman I was talking to was Monroe...

Saidez? Yes. And he was also an employee of Yerby Farms? Yes, he was. Also an Hispanic? Yes, he was. In your briefing before you went to Yerby Farms, were agents told to get DNA swabs, cheek swabs from every employee at Yerby Farms?

That was my understanding, yes. Why? To gather for information if we had to do evidence later to compare evidence, if the evidence is found. Concerning what? If there was DNA evidence found on a victim that we could cross-determine whether that was the same subject to that case. Okay, so you're looking for DNA to connect to the disappearance of Molly Tibbetts at this point? That would be my understanding, yes. And you're doing what you agents call a canvas, right?

Correct. And explain to me, in layman's terms, what a canvas is. Canvas is when you go interview people regarding what they've seen and what they saw pertaining to your case that you're currently working on. And to your knowledge, all of Brooklyn basically had been canvassed, right? Correct. and to your knowledge had any tips or leads come in before the lead on this black Malibu concerning any Hispanic individual and the disappearance of Molly Tibbetts based upon my limited time and doing the canvas I don't believe

so when the canvas was done in Brooklyn Iowa did agents get a DNA swab from every household they went to? No. But yet they went to Yerby Farms and got a swab from every employee, right? That was the understanding, yes. And when you were there, every employee you saw was Hispanic, right? Yes. And how many employees did you see? I assume there's six to eight potentially. And how many officers total did this canvas? Approximately 12. Mr. Rivera was cooperative with you? Yes. Has you had any involvement or any contact with this case prior to August 20? Yes, we were assisted with the canvas in the previous days before in Brooklyn. Did you take any DNA samples then? No. Were you interviewing people who were Caucasian?

Yes. And no one asked you to take any DNA samples from them? No. And who specifically made the call to take DNA samples from all the Hispanic employees? I believe it was a case agent. That's Trent Villada? Yep. Did he give any specific reasons why he wanted DNA swabs from each and every Hispanic employee?

Not to my recollection. Did you take a DNA sample from the owner of the dairy farm? No, he did not. Not to my knowledge. Okay. and just so the record's clear did you see the owner of the dairy farm i met one of the owners yes was he hispanic no that's all i have thank you mr freeze uh mr claver any redirect yes your honor uh agent green did the defendant have his cell phone with him at the sheriff's office in

my recollection yes did you observe the defendant using his cell phone at that time yes he did no further questions your honor mr freeze anything further no your honor Amen.