On Tuesday, police in Iowa arrested Cristhian Rivera, 24, charging him with first-degree murder for the death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Tibbetts, 20, disappeared while jogging on the evening of July 16, sparking a search involving the FBI and state and local investigators. Rivera led police to a body in a cornfield on Tuesday morning, according to court documents, and police believe the body is Tibbetts'. Rivera's motive is unclear, Rick Rahn, special agent in charge at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said at a news conference, but the suspect says he got mad and blacked out when Tibbetts threatened to call the police as he was following her on her run. Rivera is an undocumented Mexican national who has lived in Iowa for at least four years. Tibbetts would have been a sophomore this fall. You can learn more below. Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
5 weather-beaten cartoons about the Texas floodsCartoons Artists take on funding cuts, politicizing tragedy, and more
-
What has the Dalai Lama achieved?The Explainer Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader has just turned 90, and he has been clarifying his reincarnation plans
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate changeIn the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
-
The countries around the world without jury trialsThe Explainer Legal systems in much of continental Europe and Asia do not rely on randomly selected members of the public
-
The Supreme Court case that could forge a new path to sue the FBIThe Explainer The case arose after the FBI admitted to raiding the wrong house in 2017
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
Swearing in the UK: a colourful historyIn The Spotlight Thanet council's bad language ban is the latest chapter in a saga of obscenity
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
