IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) – Jurors met for hours without reaching a consensus on whether a farm laborer is guilty in the 2018 abduction and stabbing of a University of Iowa student who disappeared while out for a run. Cristhian Bahena Rivera faces first-degree murder and other charges in the death of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts. Jurors were sent home after three hours of deliberations on Thursday and will return Friday morning. Prosecutor Scott Brown said in a closing argument that “overwhelming evidence” showed Bahena Rivera was guilty. He called Bahena Rivera’s testimony that two men kidnapped him and forced him to take part in the crime “a figment of his imagination.” The defense argued prosecutors didn’t meet their burden of proof.
