The Trump administration and some Republicans, including Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, argued the murder could have been prevented with more restrictive immigration policies.

[8] She worked at a children's day camp at Grinnell Regional Medical Center and was preparing for her sophomore year in college when she disappeared.

[5][9] On July 18, 2018, Tibbetts, a former cross country runner, left the home of her boyfriend in Brooklyn for an evening jog.

[8] Over the next several weeks, police in multiple states investigated hundreds of leads in the case,[12] including an unconfirmed sighting at a truck stop in Kearney, Missouri[10] (later confirmed to have been false),[12] but were not able to locate Tibbetts.

[19][21] On August 23, the Iowa State Medical Examiner performed an autopsy and recorded the cause of death as "multiple sharp force injuries" and the manner as homicide.

[20][21] Cristhian Bahena Rivera, age 24 at the time of the crime, lived and worked in the rural Poweshiek County area where Tibbetts vanished.

[22][23] Originally from El Guayabillo, Guerrero, Mexico,[24] he arrived illegally in the United States at age 17 and had lived in the area for several years.

[26][27] Rivera became a target of investigators after they obtained footage from a nearby surveillance camera, showing a Chevrolet Malibu driving back and forth in the area where Tibbetts was jogging.

According to an affidavit filed by the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office, he led them to the body in a secluded location within a cornfield.

"[32][33] Rivera worked at Yarrabee Farms, owned by the family of a prominent Iowa Republican leader, Craig Lang.

Yarrabee Farms initially claimed that they had vetted Rivera's immigration status through the federal E-Verify program.

Chad and Jennifer Frese, a now divorced couple who worked for the same law firm, were privately retained by Rivera's relatives to represent him.

[47][48] Her friends started an online group that gained attention on social media called "The Mollie Movement", which encourages people to be kind to each other in her honor.

[49] During her funeral, her family called for mourners to remember her passion for life and desire to help others, by "celebrating something wonderful", such as her father highlighting the marriage of Blake and Allie Jack, who had been married the day previous.

"[57] A campaign email sent by the Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. committee blamed Democrats' immigration policies for Tibbetts' death.