Sudiksha Konanki
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (KFGO/CBS) – A judge in the Dominican Republic ruled on Tuesday a Minnesota college student, who is presumed to be the last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki alive, should be freed from police surveillance.
However, 22-year-old Joshua Riibe’s return to the U.S. remains unclear as there was no immediate decision about returning his passport, which authorities confiscated last week.
Riibe’s hearing in the Dominican Republic city of Higüey related to his habeas corpus petition from last week, in which he asked the court to grant him freedom and claimed that prosecutors, police and the hotel where he was staying violated his rights, in part by restricting his movements without charges filed against him, according to court documents. He argued to the judge that he was inappropriately detained and challenged authorities’ treatment of him since Konanki’s disappearance.
“I really want to go home and see my family,” Riibe said. “I understand I’m here to help but it’s been 10 days.”
Riibe said in court he was “first detained on Saturday” and believed he was “going to go home that day.”
His parents also claimed Riibe was detained “under irregular conditions” and questioned without official translators or legal counsel until March 12.
Riibe, who attends St. Cloud State University and is from Iowa, was seen on surveillance video with 20-year-old Konanki along with three of her friends and another man outside the Riu República hotel, walking to the beach on March 6. In the footage, Konanki and Riibe are seen walking with their arms around each other.
Video shows the other four individuals later returning to the hotel, but Konanki and Riibe stayed behind on the beach, a police source said. The last sighting of Konanki and Riibe in the water happened around 4:50 a.m., according to Loudon County Sheriff Mike Chapman, whose office in Virginia is involved in the investigation.
Riibe told police he and Konanki were swept into the ocean by a large wave and both struggled against rough seas. He said he believed Konanki got out of the water but was not certain, according to a person with direct knowledge of Riibe’s statements to U.S. investigators.
The Dominican Republic’s attorney general said investigators were exploring whether Konanki drowned but did not yet rule out the possibility of foul play.
Riibe has not been considered a suspect in Konanki’s disappearance and has not been accused of wrongdoing. He has been in Punta Cana for questioning since the investigation began nearly two weeks ago. Authorities confiscated his passport and he has been confined to a hotel with police escorts anywhere he goes, according to the law firm representing him, Guzmán Ariza.
At the court hearing, lawyers representing the government argued Riibe is not being held in custody, but said he was interviewed as a “witness” and “has never been accused.” Riibe’s defense lawyer, however, said the college student “has been restricted in his movement and his freedom” since last week.
Riibe’s defense attorney said he’s a “victim” and argued prosecutors asked him the same question multiple times in hopes he would trip up in his response.
During his testimony, Riibe recounted his exchange with Konanki’s mother, who hugged and thanked him for saving her daughter the first time.
“I’ve done what I can but at this time there’s not much now that I can do,” Riibe said. “I’m just waiting to go home and go back to my life.”
Riibe and his parents, Tina and Albert Riibe, extended “deep sorrow and solidarity” with Konanski’s family in a statement released through his attorney.
Konanki’s family has since asked authorities that their daughter be declared dead.
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