Sudiksha Konanki seen vomiting at bar as Joshua ‘Josh’ Riibe lawyers up as the Iowa native’s story continues to change according to police transcripts as he refuses to answer critical questions, including ‘if Sudiksha knew how to swim, if she made any cries for help, if he told authorities what happened on the beach.’
Newly released video showed missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki vomiting at a bar inside her Dominican Republic resort shortly before abruptly disappearing just hours later.
The clip was captured just on 4am on March 6th, just fifteen minutes before a final video shows Konanki, 20, and 24 year old Iowa man Joshua ‘Josh” Riibe, making their way with six others towards the beach for an early morning swim.
At 5:55, six of the eight are seen on camera returning to the hotel without Konanki or Riibe, who allegedly stayed on at the beach for an early morning swim amid choppy waters. Do you suppose?
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The new footage, obtained by CDN television, showed the 20-year-old Konanki vomiting at 4:05 am on March 6 before walking back to the bar at the Riu Republica resort in Punta Cana where she and 5 other friends had been staying.
Riibe is also captured in the video, with the 24 year old vomiting nearby while two men stood near him.
Konanki and three of her friends then went to the beach with Riibe and his friend.
Separate security camera from the all-inclusive resort where Riibe had also been staying showed the 24 year old Iowa man holding a cup and placing his arm around Konanki back as they trailed the group at 4:15 am.
At about 4:55 am, the hotel security camera system showed two of Konanki’s friends returning to the hotel.
The same camera picked up another female friend accompanied by a male walking into the building at 5:05 am. By 5.55am, six of the eight who had set out for the beach had returned, except for Konanki and Riibe.
The surveillance camera would show Riibe, barefoot and shirtless, slowly walking back to his room at 8:54am with Konanki nowhere in sight.
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Flanked by lawyers, Iowa man, 24, refused to answer 8 critical questions
The new resort footage comes just days after Riibe who remains a person of intrigue but as of yet not officially a suspect was questioned at the prosecutor’s office where it is alleged the 24 year old changed his story several times during a series of interrogations by authorities, People reported.
Riibe told a prosecutor that he and Konanki had kissed in the ocean before they almost got swept away by a wave. He claimed saving her from drowning while almost losing consciousness.
However, Riibe, who was flanked by two lawyers, refused to answer 8 critical questions, with the prosecutor probing him over how they could be sure what he was saying was truthful.
Some of the questions Riibe refused to answer involved whether ‘if Sudiksha knew how to swim, if she made any cries for help and if he told authorities what happened on the beach.’
Another. question Riibe refused to answer was what he told his close friend about Sudiksha and what he thought about her disappearance.
To all of those questions, he said: ‘My lawyers advise me not to answer that question and I follow their advice’, before going silent.
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Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, claimed he had only just met the young woman when they decided to head to the beach, according to the transcript of his interview obtained by Noticias SIN.
‘We were in waist-deep water. We talked and kissed a bit,’ Riibe said. ‘A big wave came and hit us both. And when the water returned, it swept us out to sea. As soon as we were able to surface, we tried to call for help.’
He explained that he previously worked as a lifeguard at a swimming pool and tried to bring them both to safety when he started to feel sick.
‘I was getting tired. I realized she was getting tired of swimming too. I’ve been a lifeguard. I grabbed her and pulled her out. I held her under my arm and swam to get her out of the water,’ Riibe said.
Riibe turned over his passport to Dominican authorities earlier this week and is not allowed to leave the country, according to El Nuevo Diario newspaper.
Renowned criminal defense lawyer Felix Portes told CDN that Riibe’s lawyers were expected to appear before a judge and file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to determine if he being legally detained.
