Mollie Tibbetts' family released this statement via the Iowa Department of Public Safety on Wednesday: Our hearts are broken. On behalf of Mollie’s entire family, we thank all of those from around the world who have sent their thoughts and prayers for our girl. We know that many of you will join us as we continue to carry Mollie in our hearts forever. At this time, our family asks that we be allowed the time to process our devastating loss and share our grief in private. Again, thank you for the outpouring of love and support that has been shared in Mollie’s name. We remain forever grateful. STORIES, VIDEOS, GALLERIES:COMPLETE COVERAGE OF TIBBETTS' DISAPPEARANCE MORE MOLLIE TIBBETTS COVERAGE<doc-sep>Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT AVENATTI MAKES ANOTHER STOP IN IOWA. STACEY: TONIGHT, PEOPLE ARE REMEMBERING MOLLIE TIBBETTS. PRAYER VIGILS IN IOWA AND IN BROOKLYN. HER BODY WAS FOUND TUESDAY MORNING IN A CORNFIELD IN POWESHIEK COUNTY. 24-YEAR-OLD CHRISTIAN RIVERA IS UNDER ARREST FOR THE MURDER. OUR REPORTER IS OUTSIDE OF ST. PATRICK’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, THE SITE OF TONIGHT’S SERVICE AND THE CHURCH WHERE MOLLIE WAS CONFIRMED. LAURA: THE PRIEST HERE SAYS CHRISTIANITY CALLS US TO FORGIVE BUT MANY MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY SAY THAT IS GOING TO BE TOO HARD RIGHT NOW. A SUMMER SERVICE FILLED WITH SONGS AND PRAYERS AS THE BROOK LAND COMMUNITY ASKS GOD WHY A YOUNG WOMAN HAD TO DIE. >> PEOPLE IS IRRATIONAL. WE CAN NEVER WRAP OUR EYES AROUND -- WRAP OUR MINDS AROUND IT FULLY. LAURA: DOZENS OF PEOPLE INCLUDING MOLLIE’S GRANDMOTHER AND THE COUNTY SHERIFF PACKED THE CHURCH WHERE TIBBETS WAS A LONGTIME MEMBER. >> SHE HAD A GREAT LIFE AHEAD OF HER. BUT SHE WAS ALSO SOEONE WHO ALWAYS SMILED. SHE HAD ENERGY THAT WAS CONTAGIOUS. LAURA: THE PAIN IS STILL GUTWRENCHING FOR RESIDENTS LIKE MARY CARLSON. >> UNBEARABLE. LAURA: THE FATHER CALLED FOR FORGIVENESS FOR TIBBETS’S ALLEGED KILLER. >> OUR FAITH TELLS US THAT CHRIST GAVE FORGIVENESS. >> IT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO FORGIVE. LAURA: MARCUS: -- LAURA: AFTER THE SERVICE, FRIENDS OF STOOD UP TO TELL THEIR BELOVED MOLLIE MEMORIES. >> I REALLY WANT TO BELIEVE IN ETERNAL LIFE. ONE DAY WE WILL SEE MOLLY AGAIN. LAURA: MOLLY’S GRANDMOTHER TOLD US OFF-CAMERA THAT SHE WANTS PEOPLE TO REMEMBER HER SMILE FOREVER. HER FUNERAL IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE AT Advertisement Family: Social media users are exploiting Mollie Tibbetts' death for 'racist' views 'We reclaim our Mollie' Share Shares Copy Link Copy Family members of slain 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts are calling out keyboard warriors using her death to push a "racist, false narrative" after it was discovered her alleged murderer is in the United States illegally.Mexican native Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Tibbetts' death, and circumstances regarding his immigration status have fueled a nationwide debate. Many prominent Republicans -- including President Donald Trump and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds -- have called for stauncher immigration laws, and there have been renewed demands for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a cornerstone of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.But Tibbetts' family have denounced those politicizing her death, saying the University of Iowa sophomore would have not accepted "racist fear-mongering. "Tibbetts' cousin, Sandi Tibbetts Murphy, wrote in a Facebook post that Rivera's legal status does not matter because the tragedy was a result of toxic masculinity, as opposed to a man simply immigrating to the United States. "He is a man, whose path in life crossed that of Mollie's life, with tragic results," Murphy said. "He is a man who felt entitled to impose himself on Mollie's life, without consequence. He is a man who, because of his sense of male entitlement, refused to allow Mollie the right to reject his advances -- the right to her own autonomy. "RELATED: Latino festivals postponed in light of Mollie Tibbetts’ deathPreliminary autopsy results reveal how Mollie Tibbetts diedFuneral arrangements announced for Mollie TibbettsTibbetts' aunt, Billie Jo Calderwood, said in a now-deleted Facebook post that "evil comes in EVERY color. "Their widely seen posts on social media come after political heavyweights, including the president, weighed in on Tibbetts' violent death, though not without tackling immigration reform, which is likely going to be a key factor in this November's election.The president on Friday continued to use Tibbetts' murder to argue that "Democrat immigration policies are destroying innocent lives and spilling very innocent blood. We believe that any party that puts criminal aliens before American citizens should be out of office, not into office. "Trump began his crusade of politicization this week at a West Virginia rally, saying U.S. immigration laws were a "disgrace." Then on Wednesday, he tweeted a video, sending condolences to the Tibbetts family, but strictly calling for tighter borders.Iowa's two Republican Sens. Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst said in a joint statement, "Too many Iowans have been lost at the hands of criminals who broke our immigration laws. We cannot allow these tragedies to continue. "And notoriously conservative Rep. Steve King, who represents Iowa's 4th District, tweeted Friday that Tibbetts would be alive if it weren't for the political left's stance on immigration.The governor choked up Friday at an impromptu news conference while discussing a phone call she had with Laura Calderwood, Tibbetts' mother, saying the two spoke together as mothers. However, a statement she released Tuesday asserted "too many Iowans have been lost at the hands of criminals who broke our immigration laws. "Despite the intensifying debate on immigration, the focus remains around the smiling college student who was studying psychology in Iowa City. Family members said she was a young, intelligent and caring woman with a compassionate heart and that it's unethical to "use this tragedy to demonize an entire population for the acts of one man. "Wrote Murphy: "We must be willing to address the way we raise our boys and young men, so that violence is not a part of their response to this world. Like the recent murders of the Colorado family or the similarly tragic homicide of Kate Steinle, Mollie's death is further example of the toxic masculinity that exists in our society. ""Mollie's murder is truly tragic and horrifically painful for all of us who knew and loved her, the extinguishing of a treasured spirit much too soon," she continued. "It is not your right to exacerbate this grievous act by hijacking Mollie and all she believed with your racist fear-mongering. ... We reclaim our Mollie. "RELATED: Suspect in Mollie Tibbetts' death worked at farm tied to Republican familyFarm that employed suspected killer did not use E-VerifyIowa governor chokes up relaying call with Tibbetts' motherTibbetts' funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday in the BGM High School gymnasium in her hometown of Brooklyn, according to an obituary by Smith Funeral Home & Cremation Service.Afterward, family members will receive friends for a reception and continued fellowship.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be designated to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home, P.O. Box 368, Grinnell, Iowa 50112.The town of Brooklyn held a prayer service Wednesday night at St. Patrick Catholic Church, where Tibbetts, a longtime member of the church, was confirmed. Dozens of people, including Tibbetts' grandmother and the Poweshiek County sheriff, attended.<doc-sep>
Mollie Tibbetts. Photo: @motibbs/Instagram Twenty-year-old University of Iowa* student Mollie Tibbetts first went missing in late July, sparking a monthlong search that garnered national attention. On Tuesday, police announced that they had discovered her body and charged a man with her murder: 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera. Rivera is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who’s been living in the United States for at least the past four years. His immigration status immediately prompted many to use Tibbetts’s murder as an opportunity to push their own anti-immigration agendas. President Trump, for instance, brought up the case during a Tuesday night rally, while the official White House account tweeted about it on Wednesday afternoon. But some of Tibbetts’s family members have already come forward to decry the xenophobia. According to local Iowa station KWWL, aunt Billie Jo Calderwood posted the following public statement to her Facebook: Please remember, Evil comes in EVERY color. Our family has been blessed to be surrounded by love, friendship and support throughout this entire ordeal by friends from all different nations and races. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you. She also shared the following post from a woman named Kasie Schultz Taylor: What happened to Mollie was an awful, heinous act. But please do not compound the atrocity of what happened to her by adding racism and hate to the equation. Everyone joined together supporting her family, providing food & drink to search parties & agents, hung posters, searched fields, worked TOGETHER to make #FindMollieTibbetts #findingmollietibbetts #bringmolliehome go viral! Her story was shared around the world! Do not turn #molliesmovement into something ugly. Anyone that knew Mollie knows she wouldn’t want that. Respect each other, support each other but most importantly BE KIND! Over on Twitter, a woman named Sam Lucas who says she’s Tibbetts’s second cousin slammed conservative commentator Candace Owens in particular. “Leftists boycotted, screamed, and cried when illegal immigrants were temporarily separated from from their parents,” Owens wrote. ” What will they do for Mollie Tibbetts? What did they do for Kate Steinle? They will NEVER see their parents again.” Lucas responded via Twitter: hey i’m a member of mollie’s family and we are not so fucking small-minded that we generalize a whole population based on some bad individuals. now stop being a fucking snake and using my cousins death as political propaganda. take her name out of your mouth. https://t.co/xxZNBF0Uv9 — sam (@samlucasss) August 22, 2018 Plus, as this Vox article details: Immigrants are actually less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. *This article has been updated to state that Mollie Tibbetts went to University of Iowa, not Iowa College.