The Man Charged With Mollie Tibbetts’ Murder Reportedly Also Used The Alias ‘John Budd’
The man accused of murdering 20-year-old Iowa college student, Mollie Tibbetts, reportedly also went under the alias of ‘John Budd,’ prior to his arrest.
According to Fox News, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was also known as John Budd during the time he was employed by Yarrabee Farms. Three individuals allegedly released this information under a blanket of anonymity due to the ongoing court proceedings.
CBC News reports that Rivera went by the name of John Budd for four years while employed by the dairy farm. They also state that one of the people who released this information also said that “Rivera’s work identity as John Budd appears in official government records.”
According to CBS News, “farm officials have said Rivera presented an out-of-state photo identification and a Social Security number when he was hired in 2014, and they believed he was the person depicted in those documents until his arrest last month.”
Earlier reports claimed that farm employee, Dane Lang, stated that Yarrabee Farms used the government’s E-Verify system, which could have picked up any irregularities in relation to the alias, John Budd. However, these reports were incorrect and Lang issued a public apology in relation to the incorrect statement. Lang also confirmed that they used a different government system to confirm John Budd’s identity. It is still unclear whether the E-Verify system would have been able to detect the alias anyway.
As yet, Yarrabee Farms has declined to comment in regard to these allegations on their previous employee.
Mollie Tibbetts' suspected killer reportedly used alias 'John Budd' at work. https://t.co/hvtr6NKaxZ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 5, 2018
Since the arrest, a heated debate has been going on online in relation to immigration laws since news emerged in relation to Rivera being an illegal immigrant.
Yarrabee Farms have received many phone calls from the public since Rivera’s arrest. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement has declined to comment on whether their agency is now investigating the dairy farm.
“The person who is accused of taking Mollie’s life is no more a reflection of the Hispanic community as white supremacists are of all white people,” Mollie’s father, Rob Tibbetts, ended up writing in an opinion piece for the Des Moines Register.
Cristhian Bahena Rivera was charged with the murder of Mollie Tibbetts following an investigation into her disappearance on July 18. Mollie was eventually found in a cornfield, reportedly stabbed to death. Rivera’s bail has been set at $5 million and he has been charged with first-degree murder. If convicted, Rivera could face a life sentence for Mollie’s murder.
