Man charged in Tibbetts' death worked at Iowa farm linked to prominent Republican

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USA TODAY NETWORK Austin Cannon, Des Moines Register Published 7:48 a.m. ET Aug. 22, 2018

DES MOINES – Cristhian Rivera, the man accused in the death of a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, worked for an Iowa farm owned by the brother of a prominent Iowa Republican.

In a statement Tuesday night, Dane Lang, of Yarrabee Farms, said Rivera was an “employee in good standing” and was “shocked to hear” Rivera was implicated in the death of Mollie Tibbetts.

Dane Lang is related to Craig Lang, the former president of both the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Board of Regents and a 2018 Republican candidate for state secretary of agriculture. Documents immediately reviewed by the Des Moines Register listed several owners of Yarrabee Farms, including Dane Lang and Eric Lang, Craig's brother.

Rivera, 24, who resides in rural Poweshiek County, Iowa, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the alleged abduction and death of Tibbetts, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

During a news conference Tuesday, authorities said Rivera was employed and lived in the area for four to seven years, but they would not disclose his employer.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/08/22/mollie-tibbetts-undocumented-immigrant-suspect/1060204002/