The Iowa highschool wrestling star who was named as a “individual of curiosity” within the disappearance of College of Pittsburgh pupil Sudiksha Konanki has formally been cleared of wrongdoing, a decide within the Dominican Republic mentioned.
The ruling by Choose Edwin Delgado ends the high-profile ordeal for Joshua Riibe, who was detained on the Caribbean island for almost two weeks after Konanki went lacking following a wee-hours swim on March 6 outdoors an upscale Punta Cana resort, WJLA-TV Information reported.
The court docket listening to Friday, held with out Riibe being current, concludes an earlier ruling by Delgado that allowed the 22-year-old St. Cloud State College senior to return house to the Midwest.
Konanki, 20, a pre-med pupil at Pitt, was on spring break with associates on the RIU Lodge & Resort when she met Riibe at a bar on an evening out.
The 2 went for a swim within the tough surf on the seashore on the resort, with Riibe telling police he pulled Konanki to security earlier than passing out on the seashore — however by no means noticed her once more.
Dominican authorities by no means recognized Riibe as a suspect or alleged foul play, however he was nonetheless held as a prisoner at a resort on the island and repeatedly grilled by cops, and even the nation’s legal professional common.
Right here is the most recent info on lacking Pitt pupil, Sudiksha Konanki:
- College of Pittsburgh pupil Sudiksha Konanki was on spring break in Punta Cana previous to her disappearance.
- Konanki, from Virginia, and her buddies went onto the seashore from a disco on the Riu Republica Lodge early within the morning following an influence outage.
- She was final seen with Joshua Steven Riibe from Iowa, who was named “an individual of curiosity.”
- Sheriff Mike Chapman of Konanki’s hometown in Loudoun County, Virginia, has beforehand mentioned it’s too early to find out if she had drowned.
- Konanki’s mother and father requested Dominican Republic officers to declare her useless regardless of her physique not being recovered.
- Riibe was formally cleared of wrongdoing Konanki’s disappearance.
Konanki’s disappearance sparked an enormous search involving greater than 300 regulation enforcement personnel at its peak, together with brokers from the FBI and US Division of Homeland Safety in addition to deputies from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Workplace in Konanki’s hometown in Virginia.
The seek for the scholar tapered off after her household requested that she be declared useless — together with her physique by no means discovered.
Previous to that court docket listening to, Konanki’s mother and father issued a press release asking that Riibe be cleared. That they had beforehand urged Dominican authorities to develop the investigation into their daughter’s disappearance and contemplate whether or not she was the sufferer of against the law.
In an electronic mail to The Publish after Friday’s ruling, the Dominican regulation agency of Guzman Ariza, which represented Riibe within the case, famous that the choice merely confirmed Delgado’s March 17 determination.
Observe the most recent on the seek for lacking Pitt pupil Sudiksha Konanki:
“The court docket ordered Mr. Riibe’s speedy launch as a result of he was unlawfully detained surpassing the utmost interval of 48 hours permitted underneath the structure of the Dominican Republic,” the agency mentioned.
“Guzman Ariza stays steadfast in its dedication to defending the rule of regulation, making certain nationals and overseas residents alike can belief within the safety of their elementary rights within the Dominican Republic.”
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