Mollie Tibbetts' death resulted from 'multiple sharp force injuries,' medical examiner says

Linh Ta | The Des Moines Register

Show Caption Hide Caption Drone footage shows the field where officials were lead to Tibbetts body Drone footage shows the field where officials were lead to Tibbetts body by Cristhian Rivera who has been charged with first-degree murder.

The Iowa State Medical Examiner confirmed Thursday that the body found earlier this week in rural Poweshiek County was Mollie Tibbetts and that she died from "multiple sharp force injuries."

Tibbetts' body was found face-up and covered by corn stalks in a secluded part of a farm field, near the intersection of 460th Avenue and Highway 21 outside of Guernsey.

A funeral Mass for Tibbetts will be at 2 p.m. Sunday in the gymnasium of BGM High School in Brooklyn, according to an obituary by Smith Funeral Home & Cremation Service. The family will receive friends following the service at a reception.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.

Tibbetts was a psychology major at the University of Iowa and worked with children at a day camp this summer. She vanished after going for a run in her hometown of Brooklyn on the evening of July 18. Her disappearance captured national headlines.

Police arrested Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, and charged him with first-degree murder. In an affidavit released after his arrest was announced Tuesday, police said Rivera guided them from memory to Tibbetts' location.

The Division of Criminal Investigation released its summary of the state medical examiner's preliminary autopsy Thursday afternoon. The DCI would not release additional details regarding the manner of Tibbetts' death or what kind of weapon, if any, was used.

Further examination may result in more findings, the DCI said.

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During a press conference Wednesday, Iowa DCI Special Agent Rick Rahn said video recordings from area security cameras helped investigators connect Rivera to Tibbetts' disappearance.

Footage showed Tibbetts running near Boundary and Middle streets outside of Brooklyn when a black Chevy Malibu was driving in the area around 7:45 p.m. on the day she disappeared.

The footage shows the vehicle, driven by Rivera, going back and forth in the area, according to the criminal complaint.

Mollie Tibbetts prayer service in Brooklyn prayer service in honor of Mollie Tibbetts at St. Patrick Church in Brooklyn

Rivera told investigators Monday that he exited his vehicle, and that as he ran alongside Tibbetts, she grabbed her phone and threatened to call police, according to a charging document that prosecutors filed in court Tuesday.

Investigators believe Tibbetts was abducted around the 1900 block of 385th Avenue.

"Rivera said he then panicked and got mad and that he then 'blocked' his 'memory,' which is what he does when he gets very upset," according to the document, which was written by a sheriff's deputy.

He is currently being held in the Poweshiek County Jail on a $5 million bond.

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