The motions by the defense attorneys for convicted killer Cristhian Bahena Rivera were denied by Judge Joel Yates late Friday afternoon. Defense attorneys had requested information regarding a sex trafficking operation in the Poweshiek/Mahaska county areas, while also linking Tibbetts’s death to the disappearance of Xavior Hernandez of Montezuma.

According to Yates, “Further evidence regarding (the inmate) would be a fishing expedition and unnecessary for this procedural mechanism.

A hearing will be conducted on July 27 to discuss a new trial for Bahena Rivera.