A school friend of murdered Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts shared with DailyMail.com a text message exchange with the murder suspect that took place two weeks after the young girl's disappearance.

The accused killer, who made his first court appearance Wednesday, was short and to the point with his replies to Haileigh Volkmer, who went to high school with Tibbetts briefly before moving from Iowa to Nebraska.

'Ya' Cristhian Rivera replied when Haileigh asked if he had been aware that the popular local girl had been missing.

Haileigh frequently returned to Brooklyn to visit family and would often see Mollie while she was out with friends.

She is also familiar with the 24-year-old Mexican immigrant who was arrested for Mollie's murder yesterday after police uncovered surveillance footage of his car following the 20-year-old while she was out jogging on July 18.

The 18-year-old asked, 'So you think she’s [with] someone she knows', before Rivera wrote, [I don't know] her parents say they think she is so probably.'

On August 10, while she was visiting friends in Iowa and while the hunt for Mollie intensified, Haileigh ran into Cristhian while she was out with a group.

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Three weeks before he confessed to killing Mollie Tibbetts, Cristhian Rivera (left) was 'uncomfortable' when the then missing student's name was brought up around friends, DailyMail.com can reveal

She once again asked if he had known what had happened to Mollie and he became uncomfortable, she claimed on Wednesday during an interview with DailyMail.com.

Hailegh Volkmer, 18, was the grade below Mollie and kept in touch with her recently on social media. She told DailyMail.com on Wednesday they last spoke two days before she vanished

'Everything was normal except for when we brought Mollie up. He didn’t seem to want to talk about her, just changed the subject.

'I was panicked and was asking everyone if they knew anything. So I brought it up again and asked what he thought happened.

''All he said was “Probably what her parents think, she took off with someone and doesn’t know what to do.”

'Thinking back on it now, he did seem pretty uncomfortable talking about her, but other than that he seemed normal,' she said.

From their conversation, she said it did not seem like the pair knew each other well.

Rivera, who has been living in Iowa for between four and seven years, said Mollie was 'from his area'.

He told the group he hoped police would find her, according to Haileigh.

The immigration status of the suspect is unclear. While police and government refer to Rivera as illegal, his attorney claims he is in fact in the country legally.

Allan M. Richards, an attorney for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, stated in a court document filed Wednesday that an employer has said Rivera is in the U.S. legally.

The document names Craig Lang, a former head of the Iowa Board of Regents who is co-owner of a dairy that employed Rivera. The Lang family said in a statement Tuesday that Rivera's immigration status had been confirmed by an E-Verify electronic immigration status check.

Richards argued for a gag order in the case and mentioned President Donald Trump, who he described as "sad and sorry Trump." Trump mentioned the case at a rally Tuesday night in West Virginia and said it demonstrated the need for tougher immigration laws.

Richards said Trump's comments will 'poison the entire possible pool of jury members' and asked the court to prevent the government from claiming Rivera is in the country illegally.

While Hailegh Volkmer said she never had reason to suspect Rivera was involved, the 18-year-old described Rivera as 'explosive' and 'short tempered'.

Rivera confessed on Tuesday after police found surveillance footage of him following Mollie in his car. He dumped her body in a cornfield and led police to it on Tuesday

In the past, he told her he split up from his ex-girlfriend, the mother of his daughter, because she cheated on him.

Rivera is 'explosive' and has a short temper, according to his frined

Haileigh was in the grade beneath Mollie at school. She says the pair last communicated through Instagram on July 16, two days before she vanished.

'She was always so sweet, kind to everyone.

'No one had a bad thing to say about her. She was athletic, extremely smart, loved speech, and I’d never heard her say anything negative.

'She was just a very upbeat, positive person. Always smiling,' she said.

Haileigh added that she did not know much about Rivera's background but said he moved straight from Mexico to Iowa with his family in search of a better life.

'From the sound of it, they struggled a lot financially.

'I guess coming here was supposed to be a fresh start,' she said.

No one from his family has yet spoken out.

According to the friend, the 24-year-old is a 'caring' father. He is pictured with his ex-girlfriend Iris Monarrez, who was friend with Mollie on Facebook, and their young daughter

MOLLIE TIBBETTS FAMILY STATEMENT ON HER MURDER Our hearts are broken. On behalf of Mollie's entire family, we thank all of those from around the world who have sent their thoughts and prayers for our girl. We know that many of you will join us as we continue to carry Mollie in our hearts forever. At this time, our family asks that we be allowed the time to process our devastating loss and share our grief in private. Again, thank you for the outpouring of love and support that has been shared in Mollie's name. Advertisement

When police arrested him on Friday, Rivera made a full confession and told them he had seen Mollie before. It remains unclear what his motive for chasing her down and attacking her was.

Mollie was 'always smiling' and was liked by everyone, her friend said

He told police in his interview that he 'blacked out' and that it was common for him to do so whenever he became upset.

Haileigh said she was in shock over the news as were members of the killer's family.

'From the looks of it, they're all in disbelief,' she said.

Rivera's chilling confession to police included his description of how he 'came to' after attacking Mollie in the street while he was driving.

He then remembered, he said, that she was in his trunk.

When he went to retrieve her body, he noticed there was blood on the side of her head.

He then dragged her on foot before putting her over his shoulder before dumping her 20 meters into the cornfield where he hid her corpse beneath corn stalks and leaves. He led police there on Tuesday.