(Radio Iowa) — A big donation is helping Des Moines Area Community college expand its Automotive Technology program. DMACC’s Rob Denson says the current auto facility on the Ankeny campus was built in 1980 and is outdated. A gift presented to the school Wednesday will help double the size of DMACC’s Auto Tech Center.

Carl Moyer, owner of Karl Chevrolet, announced his family is donating $1 million to the $12 million project. Denson said construction will be started later this year and be completed in fall 2020. The project will involve the addition of 22 vehicle bays, a new classroom and student lounge, conference room and showroom. Nine classrooms in the existing facility will be renovated.

The facility will be called the Karl Chevrolet Automotive Technology Center at DMACC.

(Radio Iowa) — The man charged in the murder of Mollie Tibbetts near her Brooklyn, Iowa, home reportedly told investigators all about the incident — but claims he blacked out during the actual attack. Some question that part of the suspect’s story. Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Sikorski, in Omaha, says amnesia does happen in those circumstances, but it’s unlikely.

“They’re in the realm of possibility but they’re pretty rare, about 0.2% of the population,” Dr. Skiorski says. “It’s a pretty common claim after there’s been a murder or a big tragedy.” Twenty-four-year-old Cristhian Rivera is charged in the killing of Tibbetts, a University of Iowa student who was reported missing more than a month ago. Agents say Rivera confessed to following and confronting Tibbetts as she jogged, but then says he got angry and blacked out, coming to later in his car — with her bloody body in the trunk.

Authorities say Rivera led them to the hidden body in a Poweshiek County cornfield. After providing that much detail, why won’t he discuss the alleged murder? Sikorski says forensic psychologists may be able to jar Rivera’s memory. “They’ll have techniques through interviews and they can do some types of psychological testing, but mostly through interviews that they can get to the bottom of that,” Sikorski says. “It’s sometimes a common claim after activities like this or events like this. They have ways of parsing it out.” Sikorski says true amnesia is exceptionally rare and it’s unclear what may be going on in Rivera’s mind.

“A lot of people will claim amnesia or they blacked out,” Sikorski says. “Some people will drink heavily and then say they can’t remember what happened, impaired judgment, things like that. It’s hard to know.” Rivera’s bond is set at five-million dollars. Sikorski is a professor in the Psychiatry Department at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Two people were arrested Thursday, in Mills County. The Sheriff’s Office reports 37-year old Daniel Edward Miller, of Council Bluffs, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, and on a Montgomery County warrant for Assault. His bond was set at $2,000. And, 33-year old Lynnette Tara Grothe, of Lincoln, NE., was arrested on a warrant for Failure To Appear in court on an original citation. Her bond was set at $300.

DAVENPORT, IA– A former University of Iowa Student Wrestler was sentenced Thursday, to four months in prison, after pleading guilty to unauthorized access and damage to the University of Iowa college computer network. 23-year old Trevor J. Graves was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release, pay $67,900 in restitution, and pay $100 to the Crime Victims’ Fund. Graves pleaded guilty in April 2018.

Graves admitted he knew from May 2015 to November 15, 2016, the University of Iowa Iowa Courses Online (ICON) computer network was a protected computer. During this time period, Graves knowingly and intentionally placed a key logger on University of Iowa computers and fraudulently obtained professors’ user names and passwords, accessed the ICON computer network, and deleted and changed student grades.

Specifically, Graves accessed the ICON system and, without authorization, changed course grades for himself and five other students. The University of Iowa’s information technology costs associated with their internal investigation, response to the discovery of the network breach, and remedial steps taken to update the University of Iowa information technology security was approximately $67,900.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, University of Iowa Department of Public Safety, and University of Iowa, Information Services Technology division. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

BROOKLYN, Iowa (AP) — Preliminary autopsy findings show that Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts was killed by ‘sharp force injuries.’ The Iowa State Medical Examiner conducted an autopsy yesterday (Wednesday, August 22, 2018), on the body confirmed to be Mollie Tibbetts, and drew some preliminary conclusions.

The State Medical Examiner determined that the manner of death was homicide resulting from multiple sharp force injuries. Further examination may result in additional findings. Autopsy reports are confidential under Iowa law, except for the cause and manner of death.

Cristhian Bahena Rivera has been charged in the Iowa District Court for Poweshiek County with Murder in the First Degree. Iowa courts have established rules limiting the release of information regarding an individual who has been criminally charged in a state court. The rules are designed to protect a defendant’s interests in a fair trial that could be affected by media attention to the facts in the case. Court proceedings are open to the public, in almost all circumstances, and those formal proceedings are the primary method for communicating information about the case.

Given that criminal charges have been filed in state court, the Division of Criminal Investigation does not intend to grant individual interviews with members of the media, and will conduct a limited number of press conferences while the case is pending in the Iowa District Court.

HUMBOLDT, Iowa (AP) — A northern Iowa woman has died from injuries she suffered in a crash with a semitrailer. The Messenger in Fort Dodge reports that 28-year-old Yessi Sanchez Collazo, of Algona, was a passenger in a 2016 Ford Mustang that collided head-on with the semitrailer around 3:45 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. Highway 169, north of Humboldt.

Authorities say the semitrailer driver, 63-year-old Jerry Jay Metzger, of Whittemore, was attempting to turn left at an intersection when the car with Collazo stuck his vehicle. They say 38-year-old Yorday Leon Perdomo, of Algona, was driving the Mustang. Perdomo suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to a Des Moines hospital. Collazo died at the scene. Metzger was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Jerry Evans, Water Superintendent for the City of Elk Horn reports today (Thursday) the Boil Order placed into effect Monday, has been lifted. The Order was removed after tests for contamination that may have occurred during a problem at the plant, came back negative.