Crimeatorium
Part 3: The State of Iowa vs Cristhian Bahena Rivera | The Murder of Mollie Tibbetts
Wed, 08 Jan
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Part 3Before 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
Full Episode
State of Iowa may call its next witness. Our next witness is Pamela Romero. Can you please state your name for the record? Yes, my name is Pamela Romero. And how do you spell your last name? R-O-M-E-R-O. Ms. Romero, currently how are you employed? I am the Learning and Development Specialist at West Liberty Foods, located in West Liberty, Iowa. And what is West Liberty Foods?
It's a turkey process meat factory. And how long have you worked for West Liberty Foods? It's going to be two years in June 26 of this year. Do you have any prior law enforcement experience? Yes. Can you please describe that for the jury?
Yes. I graduated from Cedar Rapids Police Academy back in 2015. And I started working with the West Liberty police department for two and a half years later transferring to the Iowa city police department for 11 months. And I'm currently a part-timer with West Liberty police department. So when would you have left law enforcement? Do you recall? Yes, it was December of 2018. Ms.
Romero want to direct your attention to July of 2018. Did you become aware of an investigation that was being conducted in Poweshiek County involving the disappearance of Molly Tibbetts? Yes, I was made aware. Okay. And were you requested to assist law enforcement in speaking to potential Spanish speaking witnesses?
Yes. The first time that I got involved, I was with the Iowa City Police Department and they told me that they needed assistance with the Hispanic community for me to go ahead and do interviews in Spanish. And how many days in July did you spend in Poweshiek County assisting in the investigation in that manner? One day.
Moving forward to August 20th of 2018, were you contacted by law enforcement in Poweshiek County to come to Montezuma to interview a person identified to you as Christian Rivera? When I was contacted, I was not made aware that I was going to go ahead and interview. At some point, were you told that you were needed to assist in the interview of the defendant? Yes. I'm sorry, go ahead.
When I got there. When you arrived in Montezuma? Yes. And why were you chosen to be the person to interview the defendant? I was brought to the understanding that Mr. Rivera spoke Spanish, so me being a native speaker, it will be easier for me and him to communicate.
And were you briefed at the time by officers that were involved in the investigation as to what the facts were of the investigation to that point? Yes, DCI agents and FBI agents. At the time that you were requested to assist in the investigation, had the body of Molly Tibbetts yet been located? No. Whenever you came to Montezuma, did you come with any other Iowa City police officer?
Yes. At that time, I was traveling with Sergeant Fink. Sorry, say that again. Sergeant Fink. F-I-N-K? Yes. And what is Sergeant Fink's first name? Is it Jeff? Yes. Sorry, that's okay. Whenever you left Iowa City, where was the first place you went to then in Poweshake County? We went to the sheriff's office in Poweshade County. Is that where you met with other officers that you just described?
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