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The disappearance and murder of Mollie Tibbetts in July 2018 drew national attention and widespread media coverage. A 20-year-old University of Iowa student, Mollie Tibbetts, vanished while on an evening jog in Brooklyn, Iowa. Weeks of search efforts eventually led to the arrest of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, whose black Chevy Malibu was identified on surveillance footage.
Authorities later found Mollie Tibbetts' remains in a nearby cornfield. According to a report by Oxygen dated December 18, 2024, Rivera admitted to the killing and was sentenced to life in prison in 2021.
Mollie Tibbetts' family, including her parents, Rob Tibbetts and Laura Calderwood, remained involved throughout the legal proceedings and continued to speak publicly about the case. Laura continues to live in Brooklyn, Iowa, while Rob, along with his wife Kacey Auston-Tibbetts, resides in Fresno, California.
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The case is featured in Dateline NBC, season 33, episode 22, The Last Mile, airing on April 6, 2025, at 10/9c.
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Mollie Tibbetts' mother, Laura, spoke in court after Cristhian Bahena Rivera was sentenced to life in prison in 2021
Mollie Tibbetts, 20, disappeared on July 18, 2018, while jogging in her hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. Surveillance footage later revealed a black Chevy Malibu circling her route, ultimately leading law enforcement to Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a dairy farm worker living under an alias.
According to the Oxygen report dated December 18, 2024, Rivera initially denied involvement but later led investigators to Tibbetts' body in a rural cornfield. Mollie had been stabbed multiple times.
Her disappearance sparked a widespread search effort involving the FBI, local law enforcement, and hundreds of volunteers. Investigators used cell phone data and Fitbit information to narrow down her last known movements. Surveillance footage captured the suspect's vehicle trailing her repeatedly.
As per the Oxygen report, Rivera eventually confessed during questioning. Before admitting to dumping Mollie's body in a field, she stated.
“I do remember that I was fighting with her… she had blood.”
In 2021, Rivera was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mollie Tibbetts' mother, Laura Calderwood, delivered a statement in court at the sentencing, highlighting the emotional toll the case had taken on the family. As per an NPR report dated August 31, 2021, Laura remarked:
"Mollie was a young woman who simply wanted to go for a quiet run on the evening of July 18 and you chose to violently and sadistically end that life.Because of your actions Mr. Rivera, I will never get to see my daughter become a mother."
Her father, Rob Tibbetts, described his daughter as a "hero" and urged the public to focus on her life rather than politicizing her death.
Read more: 5 chilling details about Mollie Tibbetts' murder
The family's life after the trial
Following Rivera's conviction, Mollie Tibbetts' family settled into quiet lives while continuing their advocacy in her name. Laura Calderwood, who resides in Brooklyn, Iowa, is active in the Mollie Tibbetts Memorial Fund, which supports Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.
Laura lives with her sons, Jake and Scott, and maintains strong family ties. She is also known for caring for Ulises Felix-Sandoval, the son of Mexican immigrants after his family fled Iowa in the wake of Rivera's arrest. Ulises was a close friend of Mollie's brother.
Rob Tibbetts, Mollie's father, lives in Fresno, California, with his wife, Kacey Auston-Tibbetts. Rob has continued working as a marketing principal at an architectural firm and participates in local community initiatives. He married Kacey just weeks before Mollie's death in 2018, and Mollie was his "best woman" at the ceremony. The couple shares a passion for travel, having recently visited Hawaii and Europe.
Mollie's cousin, Morgan Collum, who was close to her and once maintained a 600-day Snapchat streak with her, has opted to keep a low profile. However, she remains in Iowa, according to The Cinemaholic report dated June 14, 2022.
The family has repeatedly spoken against the political weaponization of Tibbetts' murder. After Rivera was identified as an undocumented immigrant, several public figures, including then-President Donald Trump, used the case to push for stricter immigration policies.
In response, the Tibbetts family publicly condemned these efforts. As cited by an ABC7.com report dated August 28, 2018, Mollie's aunt, Sandi Tibbetts Murphy, stated in a Facebook post,
“You do not get to usurp Mollie and her legacy for your racist, false narrative now that she is no longer with us. We hereby reclaim our Mollie.”
As per ABC News, Rob Tibbetts echoed similar sentiments, saying at Mollie's funeral:
“The Hispanic community are Iowans. They have the same values as Iowans.....As far as I’m concerned, they’re Iowans with better food,”
Despite the national attention and emotional weight, the Tibbetts family has chosen a path centered on community healing and remembrance.
Mollie Tibbetts' disappearance and murder will be discussed in detail in the Dateline NBC, season 33, episode 22, set to be aired on April 6, 2025, at 10/9c
