Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) urged the public Friday to hold off on using Mollie Tibbetts’ murder as a political talking point, as those on both the left and the right have been wont to do.
During a press conference Friday, the clearly emotional governor recalled her phone call Tuesday with Laura Calderwood, the mother of the slain 20-year-old University of Iowa student, according to The Associated Press.
Mollie Tibbetts Reaction: The Heartless Instant Politicization of Tragedies Must Stop
“I talked with her as a mother and just really said there weren’t even words to express my sadness for her,” Reynolds told reporters. “So that’s what we talked about. I talked to her as a mom. And as somebody that was trying to relate to her that the state was grieving for her and their loss and the individual needs to be held accountable.”
The Iowa governor, who acknowledged in her initial statement about the killing that “too many Iowans have been lost at the hands of criminals who broke our immigration laws,” went on to argue politics should not be injected into this case.
Several political prognosticators on both side of the aisle were quick to use the Tibbetts case to push their point of view:
On Fox News website, as of 9:02pm tonight:
Manafort CONVICTION is #2 story.
Cohen PLEA is #3 story.
#1 story is about undocumented immigrant who is *SUSPECT* for murder of a white girl.
Way to stay predictable, Fox.
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) August 22, 2018
When asked if Tibbetts’ death is an indicator of a trend, Reynolds simply said, “One life is too many.”
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Police filed murder charges on Tuesday, just hours after discovering the young woman’s body, against 24-year-old Cristhian Bahena Rivera, who said he was in the U.S. illegally.
Rivera’s next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 31.