Mollie Tibbetts slaying suspect Cristhian Bahena Rivera pleads not guilty

MONTEZUMA, Ia. — The man charged with first-degree murder in the death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, appeared before District Court Judge Joel Yates at the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, where his charge was formally read to him.

He said very little, listening through headphones as the hearing was translated into Spanish. Speaking through an interpreter, he confirmed his lawyer's statement that he would enter the not guilty plea.

Bahena Rivera also waived his right to have a trial within 90 days. Yates scheduled his trial for April 16, 2019.

The entire proceeding lasted 10 minutes.

Chad Frese, one of Bahena Rivera's lawyers, said his client was nervous ahead of the hearing, "but he's anxious to get this going."

Mollie Tibbetts:Complete coverage of Iowa woman's disappearance, death

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, he would not say whether the defense team would request to move the trial out of Poweshiek County.

"We will analyze that as the evidence comes in and time goes on, but this has got a lot of publicity," he said. "That’s certainly a consideration."

No matter where the trial takes place, they'll need to find somewhere with 12 impartial jurors who can hear the case, he said.

Prosecutors declined to answer questions from reporters following the hearing.

Bahena Rivera's arrest ended a five-week search for Tibbetts, 20, of Brooklyn, Iowa, after he led investigators to her body, which was covered in cornstalks in a field in rural Poweshiek County near the town of Guernsey.

He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

Police have said Bahena Rivera told them he pursued Tibbetts in his car while she was jogging that night, before parking, getting out of the car and running behind and alongside her.

When Tibbetts told Bahena Rivera she was going to call the police, he "panicked and got mad," according to a criminal complaint.

"He then 'blocked' his 'memory' which is what he does when he gets very upset," the complaint states. "And doesn't remember anything after that until he came to at an intersection."

An autopsy found she died of "multiple sharp force injuries."

Frese declined to discuss the defense strategy he will pursue at trial, but defense attorneys unconnected to the case have said one possibility is that Bahena Rivera's claim of memory loss — if it can be documented — could open the door to the defense of diminished responsibility. That defense would require Bahena Rivera to admit to killing Tibbetts, but argue that due to his mental state, he was not able to form the intent to kill her that prosecutors must prove for a first-degree murder charge.

More:Mollie Tibbetts murder suspect says his memory was 'blocked.' Could that aid his defense?

Authorities say Bahena Rivera is a Mexican immigrant who was in the country illegally.

Officials at Yarrabee Farms, where he worked for four years, say he used an out-of-state photo ID and Social Security number to secure employment at the Poweshiek County dairy farm, and they believed he was the person shown in those documents until his arrest.

Federal immigration officials visited the farm for two hours earlier this month to meet with employees and owners. No federal immigration charges have been filed against Bahena Rivera or Yarrabee Farms.

Frese said the immigration question "has nothing to do with this case."

"Our focus is Cristhian’s charge that he’s facing and the death of this woman," Frese said. "Whether or not he’s an illegal or legal immigrant really has nothing to do with the facts of this case, so we don’t want to get into that argument at all."