District Judge Joel Yates has issued an ruling on Cristhian Bahena Rivera’s Motion to Suppress Evidence finding that the majority of evidence and testimony at issue is admissible for use at trial.

In his Monday opinion, Judge Yates did suppress any statements made by Bahena Rivera between when he was read his Miranda rights improperly and when he was read them properly about six hours later, but went on to rule that Bahena Rivera did consent to the search of his car, that his statements were made voluntarily despite his claims of sleep deprivation and lengthy interrogation, and that law enforcement did not use language likely to induce a false confession, according to court documents.

Trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 4, 2020, in Woodbury County. If convicted of the first-degree murder of University of Iowa student, Molly Tibbetts, Bahena Rivera would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison.