The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation has fired one of its top agents and is advising that he “cannot be trusted as a peace officer.”
Trent Vileta served as lead agent on some of Iowa’s most prominent criminal cases from 2006 to 2025, including the abduction and killing of Mollie Tibbetts and the killing of a Fairfield High School Spanish teacher by two students. The DCI terminated him Oct. 18 after he allegedly leaked confidential information to the media, lied about it, and mishandled case evidence, including at least one firearm, according to a letter from the Iowa Department of Public Safety obtained by the Des Moines Register.
Colleen Powell, a spokesperson for the DPS, which oversees the DCI, confirmed the dates of Vileta’s employment but did not answer questions about the allegations, saying only that “to the best of the Department’s knowledge, no cases have been dismissed due to Trent Vileta’s termination.”
Attempts to reach Vileta for comment were unsuccessful.
His dismissal is a reversal for an agent who became the face of some of Iowa’s high profile investigations. It also could bolster appeals for defendants whom he investigated and helped convict, two defense attorneys told the Register.
Document puts Vileta’s credibility in question
Prosecutors are required to tell defense attorneys about potentially damaging evidence against their cases, including evidence that could be used to impeach the credibility of the state’s witnesses. As part of that obligation, prosecuting agencies maintain Brady-Giglio lists, named for two U.S. Supreme Court decisions, that identify law enforcement officers whose credibility is in question due to misconduct.
In practice, many prosecutors refuse to call officers on the list as witnesses or to file charges that rely on their testimony.
On Oct. 27, days after Vileta’s firing, the Appanoose County Attorney’s Office asked the Department of Public Safety for any impeachable information on him, according to a document obtained by the Register. In its response, the department indicated Vileta had been fired for multiple instances of misconduct.
“Due to several considerations, the Department of Public Safety believes Trent Vileta has several credibility issues that may preclude him from testifying,” Chad Page, head of the department’s professional standards bureau, wrote. “He disclosed confidential case information before trial to a national media outlet and then lied about several disclosures to the media. Additionally, Trent Vileta showed an inability or unwillingness to follow basic evidence handling procedures, including having … unsecured firearms from cases in his car for years. Trent Vileta cannot be trusted as a peace officer.”
It’s not clear what case or investigation led Appanoose County to inquire about Vileta or how it was affected by his firing. Appanoose County Attorney Ty Stewart did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Where did Vileta’s alleged misconduct occur?
In addition to the murders of Mollie Tibbetts and Fairfield teacher Nohema Graber, Vileta has worked on a number of other prominent cases. They include the 2021 death of Ryan Cooper in Traer, leading to the conviction of his wife Karina and Huston Danker, her partner in an extramarital affair; the long-delayed 2019 conviction of Annette Cahill of Muscatine for the 1992 slaying of ex-boyfriend Corey Wieneke; and the 2011 conviction of Tracey Richter for killing a 20-year-old neighbor in Early in what she sought to make look like a home invasion.
The Department of Public Safety has not said in which cases Vileta’s misconduct allegedly occurred. The Des Moines Register contacted current or former attorneys for seven defendants Vileta investigated, some of whom said they were unaware of the allegations.
Attorney Nicole Watt, who represented Karina Cooper, said she was told unofficially by a staff member of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office that at least one of the reported media leaks occurred in her case. She declined to name the person.
Leon Spies, who represented Danker in the same investigation, confirmed he’d heard Vileta’s media interaction had occurred during that case.
Watt said the defense in Cooper’s case had tried to subpoena Vileta before trial and he was “nowhere to be found.” She did not learn about his reported media contact until after the trial, she said.
“I can’t say whether any of his bad deeds would have changed the outcome of our trial, but I hope whatever he’s done comes to light,” she said.
Allegations could impact pending matters
The investigation into Vileta means it’s unlikely the state will call him to testify in any future case, but his testimony could still be significant in appeals and postconviction relief cases from defendants he investigated years or decades ago.
Attorney Erica Nichols Cook, who is representing Annette Cahill in her pending postconviction case, said she recently learned about the misconduct allegations.
“It will have an impact on Mrs. Cahill’s post-conviction relief proceedings because Agent Vileta was the driving force behind reopening the cold case investigation,” she said in an email. “There are also many questions, such as when and how the misconduct came to light — and the delay in notifying the public.”
Nichols Cook noted Vileta has already been deposed and currently is scheduled to testify in Cahill’s postconviction relief trial, which will begin Dec. 1 in Muscatine County.
What about the Mollie Tibbetts case?
Cristhian Bahena Rivera was sentenced in 2021 to life in prison for killing Brooklyn, Iowa, college student Tibbetts in 2018. Although his appeal was denied, he has not filed a postconviction relief case seeking to overturn the verdict. That could change in light of the revelations about Vileta, said Chad Frese, one of his attorneys.
“Absolutely,” he said. “We’re going to explore that now.”
Frese noted that Vileta, as lead case agent, was responsible for deciding which tips to pursue and which to ignore, and that he was the one responsible for investigating tips about a man accused of sexual abuse who lived next door to where Tibbetts’ body was found.
In addition to testifying at trial, Vileta also gave evidence at pretrial hearings to determine what evidence would and would not be admitted, raising the possibility that the court might have ruled differently if Vileta was found less than credible, Frese said.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Top Iowa investigator in Mollie Tibbetts, other cases terminated
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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