An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been charged with the murder of a US student in a case that has been seized on by Donald Trump as evidence that America’s immigration laws are too weak.
Farm worker Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, led authorities to a body believed to be that of Mollie Tibbetts, 20, a University of Iowa student who went missing last month while out jogging near her home.
A huge search operation was launched in Brooklyn, Ohio, after her disappearance on July 18.
Police received 4,000 tips from the public, interviewed 1,500 people and scoured Ms Tibbett’s fitness tracker, smartphone and social media accounts for clues during a five-week investigation. Then yesterday Rivera took officers to remains hidden beneath corn stalks about 10 miles from Ms Tibbetts’s home.
At a rally in West Virginia last night, Mr Trump said: “You heard about today with the illegal alien coming in, very sadly, from Mexico and you saw what happened to that incredible, beautiful young woman. Should’ve never happened. Illegally in our country.”
He called on voters to back Republican candidates to address immigration laws.
“We’ve had a huge impact, but the laws are so bad, the immigration laws are such a disgrace. We’re getting it changed but we have to get more Republicans.”
Iowa’s Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, who is facing a tough challenge in November’s mid-term elections, added: “We are angry that a broken immigration system allowed a predator like this to live in our community, and we will do all we can to bring justice to Mollie’s killer.”
Opponents of the Republicans pointed to evidence that illegal migrants are no more likely to commit crimes than American citizens.
Ms Tibbetts had been dog-sitting at the home of her boyfriend and his brother on the day she went missing.
Police said a surveillance video of her jogging and of Rivera’s car helped authorities track down the suspect.
He is alleged to have followed Ms Tibbetts but claimed he “blacked out”.
Rivera has been charged with first-degree murder. If convicted, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Rick Rahn, a special agent in the Iowa division of criminal investigation, said Rivera was “very compliant”.
He added: “I can’t speak about the motive. I can just tell you that it seemed that he followed her, seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day.
“For whatever reason he chose to abduct her.” Iowa university, where Ms Tibbetts was studying psychology, said it was “deeply saddened”.
