By RYAN J. FOLEY Associated Press
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A prosecutor urged jurors to find a farm laborer guilty of first-degree murder in the 2018 abduction and stabbing death of a University of Iowa student who disappeared while out for a run. Prosecutor Scott Brown said in a closing argument Thursday that the testimony revealed “overwhelming evidence” that Cristhian Bahena Rivera is guilty of murder in the death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. He called Bahena Rivera’s testimony that two men kidnapped him at gunpoint and forced him to take part in the crime “a figment of his imagination,” saying he concocted the story to try to explain away damning evidence. A defense lawyer said prosecutors had failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. Jurors have started their deliberations.
