CLOSE Dane and Craig Lang say they received threats after revealing they employed Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man charged in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts. Rodney White, rodwhite@dmreg.com 
 
 Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is lead from the courtroom after making his initial appearance on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. (Photo: Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool) 
 
 When the Lang family watched the news about Mollie Tibbetts unfold on Tuesday, a familiar face flashed on the screen. 
 
 They were shocked. The face of the suspect was familiar to them as one of their employees at Yarrabee Farms, but the name that went with the picture was completely different. 
 
 "What we learned within the last 24 hours is that our employee was not who he said he was," said Dane Lang, manager of Yarrabee Farms. 
 
 Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the 24-year-old immigrant accused of abducting and killing Tibbetts, allegedly used a different name and provided false identification when he applied for employment at the farm just outside of Brooklyn, his employer said Wednesday. 
 
 Rivera worked at Yarrabee Farms in rural Poweshiek County for four years, Lang said. Yarrabee Farms is owned by multiple generations of the Lang family, including Craig Lang, former Farm Bureau President and prominent Iowa Republican. 
 
 Rivera was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday in the July 18 disappearance of Tibbetts, whose remains were found in a cornfield in rural Poweshiek County. A criminal complaint released Tuesday said Rivera directed law enforcement to Tibbetts' body. 
 
 Rivera worked on day-to-day operations with the cows. He was introduced to the Lang family and gained employment there through a former girlfriend. 
 
 He also lived on the property in a mobile home, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 
 
 "We continue to cooperate with the investigation, and we have provided information about our former employee, including his hiring records, to authorities," Craig Lang said during a press conference on the farm on Wednesday. "There will be plenty of time later to discuss immigration. However, now is not that time." 
 
 COMPLETE COVERAGE:All the latest Mollie Tibbetts information here 
 
 Dane Lang is Craig's son. He said Rivera provided a state-issued government ID and social security number when applying for employment. The information is required to file a Form I-9, which verifies the identity and employment eligibility of a person in the U.S. 
 
 As a voluntary second verification step, the business put Rivera's information through the Social Security Administration’s number verification service, but Dane Lang said he and others assumed it was E-Verify.gov. 
 
 E-verify.gov allows employers to check if the information on a Form I-9 matches Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security records. 
 
 Employment verification officials consider E-Verify a more robust backgrounding system, because it includes immigration status and eligibility to work in the United States. A check of only a social security number verifies that the number, name and birth date an employee provided match information that exists in the federal Social Security database. 
 
 Dane Lang said Rivera provided a different name when he applied for employment, but he would not share it on Wednesday, citing the investigation. 
 
 "This employee was considered in good standing," Dane Lang said. Rivera showed up to work on time, cooperated with the other employees and showed up every day, he said. 
 
 Over the last month, the younger Lang said he didn't notice any changes in Rivera's behavior. He said he always worked well with his colleagues. 
 
 "I wish I had seen a difference, but I didn't," Dane Lang said. 
 
 About 10 full-time and part-time employees work on the farm. He said the family was consulting with their immigration attorney on whether they can use E-Verify to check existing employees’ background. 
 
 Dane Lang would not confirm whether there were any non-U.S. citizens employed at the farm. 
 
 He said the farm's employees are a part of the community and some of their kids have gone on to become homecoming king or a valedictorian. 
 
 At least 100 threatening voicemail messages have been sent to Dane Lang since Tuesday, he said. People have threatened to burn down buildings and even kill his dog after learning Rivera was employed at the farm. 
 
 "This is a really scary situation," he said. "And the unfortunate thing is, people are paying attention to me and we’re forgetting about the heartbroken family in Brooklyn and the heartbroken community." 
 
 The Register's Donnelle Eller contributed to this report. 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://dmreg.co/2o37jcM ||||| Cristhian Bahena Rivera is escorted into the Poweshiek County Courthouse for his initial court appearance, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, in Montezuma, Iowa. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the... (Associated Press) 
 
 Cristhian Bahena Rivera is escorted into the Poweshiek County Courthouse for his initial court appearance, Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018, in Montezuma, Iowa. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Mollie Tibbetts, who disappeared July 18 from Brooklyn, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Associated Press) 
 
 BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — For years, the young man from Mexico presented himself as a legal U.S. resident and reliable worker at a family dairy farm in small town Iowa, his employer said. 
 
 But this week, the image of Cristhian Bahena Rivera transformed in a matter of hours. Now he's a man accused of illegally living and working in the U.S. on fraudulent documents, of being a predator who kidnapped and killed a beloved young woman, and to some, the monstrous face of a lax immigration system. 
 
 Rivera made his initial court appearance Wednesday in a rural Iowa courthouse on a first-degree murder charge in the death of 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts. He sat stone-faced and handcuffed in a striped jail jumpsuit as he said through an interpreter that he understood he faced life in prison if convicted. He was ordered jailed on a $5 million cash-only bond after a prosecutor said he was a danger to the community who was accused of a "heinous crime." 
 
 The turn of events stunned the prominent farm family that employed him for the last four years. They said the 24-year-old worked under a different name and was a good employee who helped take care of their cows and got along with co-workers. 
 
 Even after Tibbetts disappeared on July 18 while out for an evening run in the small central Iowa town of Brooklyn, Rivera kept coming to work and "nobody saw a difference" in his demeanor, said Dane Lang, the manager of Yarrabee Farms. His colleagues were stunned Tuesday to learn that he was not only the suspect in Tibbetts' death, but that he had a different real name than what he went by on the farm, Lang said. 
 
 "Our employee is not who he said he was," Lang said at a news conference at the farm. "This was shocking to us." 
 
 When Rivera was hired in 2014, he presented an out-of-state government-issued photo identification and a matching Social Security card, Lang said. That information was run through the Social Security Administration's employment-verification system and checked out, he said. 
 
 Rivera's defense attorney, Allan Richards, acknowledged Wednesday that his client received his paycheck under a different name and that he was uncertain of his immigration status. He said he was prepared to argue that his client was in the country legally, noting that he came to the U.S. as a minor and had worked and paid taxes for years. 
 
 "He showed up every day and he did his job. He was patted on his back. They turned a blind eye to the reality of documentation," Richards said. 
 
 Investigators say they believe Rivera abducted Tibbetts as she went on an evening jog, killed her and dumped her body in a cornfield. A judge on Wednesday agreed to increase Rivera's bond to $5 million from $1 million after prosecutor Scott Brown noted he was a potential flight risk who was charged with a "heinous crime." 
 
 His attorney, Richards, lashed out at President Donald Trump for publicly declaring his client guilty at a rally Tuesday night. He said his client was a hard worker with the equivalent of an eighth-grade education, had no prior criminal record and deserved the presumption of innocence and a fair trial. 
 
 "Sad and Sorry Trump has weighed in on this matter in national media which will poison the entire possible pool of jury members," Richards wrote in a court filing. 
 
 Trump noted the arrest at the rally in West Virginia: "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." 
 
 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have lodged an immigration detainer for Rivera, a move that means the agency has probable cause to believe he is subject to deportation. No hearing has been held yet on his status. 
 
 Yarrabee Farms is a small family farming operation that dates back to 1860 and has been owned for six generations by the Lang family, which is prominent in the community, farming circles and Republican politics. Dane Lang said the farm had received dozens of disturbing phone calls and messages since the employee's arrest, including threats to kill his dog and burn down his buildings. 
 
 "This is a scary situation," he said. 
 
 His father and farm co-owner Craig Lang, a former president of the Iowa Farm Bureau who ran earlier this year for state agriculture secretary, said the farm was cooperating with investigators and had already turned over Rivera's hiring records. He said now was not the time to debate immigration but to grieve the loss of Tibbetts, who was studying psychology at the University of Iowa. 
 
 Rivera led investigators Tuesday to a body believed to be Tibbetts in a cornfield about 12 miles (19 kilometers) southeast of Brooklyn, where she was last seen, police said. 
 
 Rivera allegedly confessed to following her and then panicking when she threatened to call police. He told authorities that he blacked out and then dumped her bloody body in the secluded location. 
 
 Investigators have not released the cause and manner of Tibbetts' death, and didn't release any information following an autopsy conducted Wednesday. 
 
 Rivera's Facebook page described him as being from Guayabillo, a community of less than 500 people in the Mexican state of Guerrero. It's about a three-hour drive from the resort city of Acapulco. 
 
 Investigators said they zeroed in on Rivera after obtaining footage from surveillance cameras in Brooklyn. The footage showed a Chevy Malibu connected to Rivera that was driving back and forth as Tibbetts was running in the area. The farm where he worked was just a couple miles away from that location. 
 
 A conviction on first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole in Iowa, which does not have the death penalty. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Sign up for the AP's weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting from the Midwest and Texas: http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv ||||| (CNN) The weekslong search for Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old Iowa student who disappeared while jogging, came to a grisly end Tuesday when a man guided investigators to a body in a cornfield. 
 
 While authorities have yet to confirm the body is Tibbetts, they arrested Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, on first-degree murder charges. 
 
 The discovery dashed the hopes of family and friends who had scoured Poweshiek and nearby counties as rewards grew to nearly $400,000. Tibbetts, officials said, is believed to have been abducted on July 18 as she went out for an evening jog. 
 
 Rivera, who's an undocumented immigrant, told them Monday that he saw and pursued her, getting out of his car and running beside Tibbetts. She warned him she would call police, officials told reporters Tuesday. 
 
 The suspect, who said he blacked out at some point, led authorities to the field Tuesday morning, they said. A body, dressed in Tibbetts' clothing, was covered in corn leaves. 
 
 It is unclear why Rivera killed Tibbetts, said Rick Rahn, special agent in charge at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 
 
 "I can't really speak to you about the motive," Rahn said. "I can just tell you it seems that he followed her and seemed to be drawn to her on that particular day and for whatever reason he chose to abduct her." 
 
 An autopsy to determine when and how the woman died is planned for Wednesday. 
 
 Authorities had been looking for Tibbetts about a month when they found home surveillance video that showed a car following a woman running. 
 
 After watching it for hours, investigators found clues that led them to Rivera. He didn't resist when authorities tried to detain him, Rahn said. 
 
 The suspect is an undocumented immigrant who authorities believe has been in the area for four to seven years, Rahn said. Charges were filed in district court in Poweshiek County and bail was set at $1 million. If convicted Rivera could get life in prison without parole. Iowa does not have the death penalty. 
 
 President Donald Trump referred to the case while speaking at a rally in Charleston, West Virginia. 
 
 "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 have never happened. Illegally in our country," he said. "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." 
 
 Police: Tibbetts told suspect she would call cops 
 
 Authorities said the suspect followed Tibbetts on July 18, the video recorded by a home surveillance system shows. 
 
 According to court documents, the suspect said in an interview that when he approached Tibbetts, she pulled out her cell phone and told Rivera she was going to "call the police" and that caused him to get angry. 
 
 He said he blacked out and woke up at an intersection in rural Poweshiek County, court documents say. 
 
 Rahn said the suspect told investigators he realized he had put the woman in the trunk of his car and when he took her out, he saw blood on the side of her head, the document says. He left the body in a cornfield and covered it with corn leaves, it adds. 
 
 Shawn Neudauer, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said the agency on Tuesday sent a detainer request to local authorities for Rivera, who is from Mexico. That means ICE could take custody of Rivera if he was released from local custody. 
 
 Rahn said Tibbetts' digital footprint, which included data from a fitness tracker known as a Fitbit, played a role in solving the case. 
 
 Tibbetts' father, Rob Tibbetts, when reached earlier Tuesday, had no comment. 
 
 Other politicians weighed in on Tibbetts' death. 
 
 Gov. Kim Reynolds said she called Tibbetts' family. 
 
 "I spoke with Mollie's family and passed on the heartfelt condolences of a grieving state," Reynolds said. "I shared with them my hope that they can find comfort knowing that God does not leave us to suffer alone. Even in our darkest moments, He will comfort and heal our broken hearts." 
 
 She complained about a broken immigration system that allowed a "predator" to live in her state. 
 
 Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley also sent condolences and called for action on illegal immigration. 
 
 "Too many Iowans have been lost at the hands of criminals who broke our immigration laws. We cannot allow these tragedies to continue," they said. 
 
 Vice President Mike Pence called Tibbetts an amazing woman. 
 
 "Heartbroken by the news about Mollie Tibbetts. Mollie was an amazing young woman and we are praying for her parents, brothers & friends in this time of unimaginable grief. ... We commend the swift action by local, state, & federal investigators working in Iowa in apprehending an illegal immigrant, who's now charged with first-degree murder. Now, justice will be served. We will never forget Mollie Tibbetts," he tweeted. 
 
 Extensive and lengthy search 
 
 Tibbetts was last seen jogging on July 18 in the small community of Brooklyn, Iowa, about an hour east of Des Moines, according to the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office. 
 
 Before she went missing, Tibbetts' brother dropped her off at her boyfriend's house so she could dog-sit, HLN reported. Her family reported her missing after she did not show up for work the next day. 
 
 The poster distributed asking for information about Mollie Tibbitts' disappearance. 
 
 Investigators launched an extensive search for Tibbetts across the area, including in ponds, fields and from the air. 
 
 Rahn said last week that authorities had received more than 1,500 tips and conducted more than 500 interviews in the case. 
 
 Tibbetts was studying psychology at the University of Iowa and wanted to get a doctorate and write books, her father said. 
 
 Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly spelled the first name of the suspect.
– One of roughly 10 employees at Yarrabee Farms in rural Poweshiek County, Iowa, the 24-year-old lived in a mobile home on the property, always showed up for work, and got along with his co-workers as he took care of the cows over the course of four years. It was only Tuesday that his employers learned his real name. Cristhian Rivera, accused of killing 20-year-old University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, used a different name associated with an out-of-state government ID and matching Social Security card when he got a job at the dairy farm through a former girlfriend in 2014, reports the Des Moines Register. When the information was run though the Social Security Administration's verification service, everything checked out, farm manager Dane Lang tells the AP. But "our employee was not who he said he was," adds Lang, son of farm co-owner and prominent Republican Craig Lang. "This was shocking to us." Immigration officials now suspect Rivera was in the US illegally. Per the AP, a Facebook page in his name gives his hometown as Guayabillo, Mexico, a community of less than 500. The AP adds Rivera's attorney, Allan Richards, on Wednesday said he might argue his client was here legally, saying Rivera had been in the US since he was a minor and paid taxes. But Richards did say he hadn't verified Rivera's immigration status. At a vigil at the University of Iowa where Tibbetts would've started her sophomore year on Monday, her brother had one request for the hundreds gathered: make a friend. "You can always attribute that friendship … to my sister, and that would mean the world to her," he said, per the Register.