Part of the case against a Mexican national charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Mollie Tibbetts appears to be in jeopardy because an officer failed to properly read him his Miranda rights.

Prosecutors have agreed to exclude at trial some statements that 25-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera made to police. Court documents prosecutors filed Friday (10/18) acknowledge that the initial Miranda warning given to Rivera around 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2018, was incomplete because the officer “inadvertently” failed to inform Rivera that anything he said could be used against him in court.  His Miranda rights were accurately read to him a second time at 5:50 a.m. the following day as police were in a cornfield where Tibbetts’ body was found.  Tibbetts disappeared while out for a run July 18, 2018, in Brooklyn. Investigators recovered her body a month later. She had been stabbed to death.  Prosecutors agree in their filings Friday that any statements Rivera made between 11:30 p.m. and 5:50 a.m. should be suppressed but argue they should be able to use those statements to rebut testimony. Defense attorneys for Rivera want the statements fully suppressed.  Rivera is set to appear in Poweshiek County Court Tuesday (10/22), when a judge will decide what evidence will be allowed at his trial.  Rivera’s trial is set to start in February in Sioux City.