Illegal Alien Accused Of Murdering Mollie Tibbetts Worked On Farm Owned by Iowa GOP Family

The illegal immigrant who allegedly killed college student Mollie Tibbetts had worked for years at a farm owned by a prominent Iowa Republican family, a report said Tuesday night.

Cristhian Rivera -- the 24-year-old man who is suspected of murdering Tibbetts while she was out jogging -- was an "employee in good standing" at Yarrabee Farms, which is owned by the family of former Iowa official Craig Lang, according to the Des Moines Register.

In the statement, Craig's brother Dane Lang said he was "shocked" to hear Rivera had been charged with a crime.

"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Mollie Tibbetts. This is a profoundly sad day for our community. All of us at Yarrabee Farms are shocked to hear that one of our employees was involved and is charged in this case.

This individual has worked at our farms for four years, was vetted through the government’s E-Verify system, and was an employee in good standing. On Monday, the authorities visited our farm and talked to our employees. We have cooperated fully with their investigation.

Yarrabee Farms follows all laws related to verifying employees are legal to work in the United States, and we regularly seek outside counsel to ensure we stay up-to-date on employment law matters. We keep records on all employees and have shared that information with authorities.

We appreciate the hard work of law enforcement officials. We will continue to cooperate with authorities as the investigation moves forward."