The man who was arrested in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts, the 
University of Iowa student who disappeared last month, worked 
less than three miles from where she was staying the night she 
vanished.

Cristhian Rivera, 24, was employed by Yarrabee Farms for the 
past several years, according to a source with knowledge of the 
situation.

The Des Moines Register reported that it reviewed documents that 
listed several owners of the farm, which included Dane Lang and 
Eric Lang, both relatives of Craig Lang. Craig Lang, who owns a 
dozen property deeds in Brooklyn, Iowa, is reportedly a former 
2018 Republican candidate for secretary of agriculture in the 
state.

Dane Lang said Rivera worked there for the past several years, 
and was an "employee in good standing." He also noted that 
Rivera passed the government's E-Verify employment verification 
system, despite his status as an undocumented immigrant. The 
system is intended to maintain a database of I-9 forms and tax 
records of employees across the country.

"This is a profoundly sad day for our community. All of us at 
Yarrabee Farms are shocked to hear that one of our employees was 
involved and is charged in this case," Dane Lang said in a 
statement. "On Monday, the authorities visited our farm and 
talked to our employees. We have cooperated fully with their 
investigation.

Police discovered a body in rural Poweshiek County Tuesday 
morning and have a suspect in custody.
"Yarrabee Farms follows all laws related to verifying employees 
are legal to work in the United States, and we regularly seek 
outside counsel to ensure we stay up-to-date on employment law 
matters," the statement read. "We keep records on all employees 
and have shared that information with authorities."

Tibbetts went missing on July 18, and in the month since her 
disappearance authorities worked to locate the 20-year-old. She 
was last seen jogging near her boyfriend's home, where she was 
staying while he was out of town.

Authorities on Tuesday announced the arrest of Rivera, who led 
them to the body of Tibbetts. She was found dead in a cornfield 
near 460th Ave. and Highway 21, a rural part of the county. 
Rivera has been charged with first-degree murder, and is being 
held on a $1 million cash bond.

Rivera told authorities he was following Tibbetts in his car 
before getting out and running alongside her, according to the 
affidavit. He said she threatened to call the police, at which 
point he allegedly panicked and "blocked" his memory. He 
allegedly said he later pulled into the entrance of a cornfield 
and found Tibbetts in his trunk with blood on the side of her 
head.

He then pulled Tibbetts from the trunk of his Chevy Malibu, 
hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her "about 20 meters" 
into the cornfield, the affidavit read. He allegedly left her 
face up and covered her body with corn husks. It was in this 
position that authorities found her on Tuesday.

In a press conference on Tuesday, authorities said Rivera had 
seen Tibbetts before, but couldn't comment on whether or not he 
was stalking her. They said surveillance footage from locals was 
instrumental to identifying Rivera and his car.

Authorities said they were still investigating the events that 
led to Tibbett