(Reuters) - The accuser killer of Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts, whose disappearance produced national headlines, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder at a court appearance on Wednesday. Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbets, was arraigned Wednesday on first-degree murder charges at the Poweshiek County District Court in Montezuma, Iowa with his trial set for next April. An immigrant from Mexico is charged in the July 18 kidnapping and stabbing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, who vanished while out for a run in the small town of Brooklyn. Investigators later recovered two pairs of shorts with blood stains and a knife that Richards allegedly gave to two other people after the slaying, the complaint said. Authorities arrested Rivera, 24, a Mexican national, last month in connection with Tibbets murder, which attracted national attention during her disappearance, KCCI-TV reported. Rivera entered a not guilty plea in court, through an interpreter, with a trial date of April 16 in Poweshiek County District Court, which was live streamed by Des Moines Register.com.
Cristhian Bahena Rivera, a 24-year-old man charged in the killing of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts, is expected to be arraigned in a Poweshiek County court.