The shaken former girlfriend who turned up to support the alleged killer of Mollie Tibbetts at his first court appearance has told friends: ‘I only went for the sake of our daughter.’
Iris Monarrez says she split up with Cristhian Bahena Rivera two years ago but stayed in close contact with him because of their little girl, Jamilet, three.
Monarrez took Jamilet with her when she attended Poweshiek County Court Wednesday to see alleged illegal immigrant Rivera, 24, face a first-degree murder charge.
The toddler cried out and repeatedly asked her mom what was happening as her father was led into the courtroom in shackles and a jail-issue striped jumpsuit.
‘Iris wanted to go because of her daughter. At the end of the day that’s her little girl’s father and she may not be able to see him for a very long time,’ dished a confidante.
Cristhian Rivera’s ex-girlfriend Iris Monarrez, with whom he shares a daughter, says she split up with Rivera two years ago but stayed in close contact with him because of their little girl, Jamilet, three. Monarrez took Jamilet with her when she attended Poweshiek County Court Wednesday to see alleged illegal immigrant Rivera, 24, face a first-degree murder charge
Rivera worked on a dairy farm less than four miles from where Mollie’s body was found Tuesday under a pile of cornstalks, some 34 days after she vanished while on her evening jog
‘Iris has been balling her eyes out. She’s having a really bad time but her family are all rallying around her. Jamilet is everyone’s priority now – not Cristhian.’ Mollie and
Monarrez lived around two miles from one another in Brooklyn, Iowa and both went to Brooklyn, Guernsey, and Malcom High School only which only has around 250 pupils.
Monarrez graduated in 2016, a year ahead of Mollie, and was on the school’s cheerleader squad. Mollie, meanwhile, ran track and competed on the school debate team.
The pair actually appear on opposite sides of the same page in the 2015-16 edition of the ‘Make It Count’ yearbook.
Monarrez was dating Rivera between 2013 and 2015 however investigators don’t think the high school connection brought Rivera into direct contact with Mollie. They think it’s more likely the Mexican National had only seen her on a handful of occasions, possibly when she was out jogging or on social media.
‘I don’t know if Iris and Mollie were close friends at school but she obviously heard about her going missing,’ the friend of Iris added.
‘She’s just really sad about what happened to Mollie. Everyone is.’
On Tuesday, Rivera led police to Mollie Tibbetts’ body. She had been missing since July 18
Rivera worked on a dairy farm less than four miles from where Mollie’s body was found Tuesday under a pile of cornstalks, some 34 days after she vanished while on her evening jog.
After investigators identified him as the driver of a suspicious vehicle seen following her, Rivera confessed to trying to speak to Mollie, chasing her down on foot, then ‘getting mad’ when she tried to dial 911.
He told investigators he ‘blacked out’ and can’t remember what he did but said he came round shortly afterwards, found her body in the trunk of his Chevy Malibu and hid it in a field, according to charging documents.
Autopsy results have since confirmed that the 20-year-old college student’s death was a homicide caused by ‘multiple sharp force injuries’.
Rivera has not been charged with any type of sexual offence but the Iowa Department of Public Safety has warned that ‘further examination may result in additional findings’.
Those examinations could take a further six to eight weeks, according to a law enforcement source.
The 5ft 6in defendant was also warned in court that he could be placed on the sex offender registry for life when the case concludes, as well as being deported.
Federal authorities believe Rivera, originally from the Mexican Pacific Coast town of Guayabillo, has been in the US illegally for between four and seven years.
Rivera, 24, was living in a trailer on a remote plot of land located four miles from where Mollie Tibbetts was abducted while jogging
Friends of his told DailyMail.com he crossed the border around six years ago with a cousin, although Rivera’s attorney Allan Richards has insisted his client is in the US lawfully.
Rivera’s employer for the past four years, Yarrabee Farms, said he applied for his job using false name and social security number. DailyMail.com revealed exclusive images of the dilapidated trailer where Rivera had been living for the past couple of years, next to a two-story farmhouse also owned by Yarrabee Farms.
The surrounding plot was strewn with beer cans, rusting chairs and other assorted junk.
Both the trailer and the house were searched Monday after his arrest and then for a second time Thursday, when FBI agents took photos and scoured the site with a dog.
Rivera has extended family living in Brooklyn as well as an aunt and uncle in the nearby city of Tama, who were both in court this week to support him.
When reached by phone they told DailyMail.com his attorney had advised them not to speak with the media. Rivera is being held on $5 million cash only bond and is yet to enter a plea to first degree murder. His preliminary hearing takes place August 31.