Joshua Riibe leaves the Dominican Republic amid many un-answered questions surrounding the disappearance of missing University student, Sudiksha Konanki. Iowa man obtains new U.S passport before flying on to Puerto Rico as some wonder, did he commit the perfect crime?
Did he commit the perfect murder? In the absence of of any evidence of foul play and the recovery of the body of missing University of Pittsburgh student, Sudiksha Konanki, a 22 year old Iowa man who may have been involved in her abrupt disappearance and who had been held by Dominican Republic authorities on around the clock, police watch (despite no charges) on Wednesday left the Caribbean island, no doubt basking in his new found freedom.
Joshua Riibe, 22, according to local media had flown directly to U.S territory, Puerto Rico (as opposed to waiting for a flight back to the U.S) no longer under the legal clutches of the Dominican Republic.
Joshua Riibe, the last person believed to have seen missing student, Sudiksha Konanki, is expected to receive his passport back from authorities as soon as Thursday after it was confiscated.
Erielle Reshef reports the latest. pic.twitter.com/WRItuk0kdi— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) March 19, 2025
Iowa man free to at last leave the Dominican Republic
Riibe had flow out one day after a court ruled he was free to leave the country after filing a motion on Monday exercising habeas corpus, demanding that he either be charged or be allowed to leave. At the time, Riibe had his passport confiscated, preempting him from leaving the island and furthering his ongoing ordeal as the world’s eyes were trained on him as a possible suspect or the indirect cause of Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance or worse, her death. Or even murder as many on the internet had speculated.
Riibe boarded a JetBlue flight to Puerto Rico on Wednesday afternoon, and was planning to returning home to the United States with his father, sources told the dailymail.
Riibe had spent 11 days assisting police in the disappearance of 20-year-old pre-med student Sudiksha Konanki. While Riibe was never considered a suspect, he had his passport confiscated and was probed daily about Konanki’s last hours.
Complicating the investigation were seemingly contradictory accounts that Riibe had given officials and his failure to seek out assistance for Konanki who he had previously held had drowned, or was fighting large waves or had made it back to shore, or whom he saved from drowning, before ‘passing out’ on the beach, with her nowhere to be seen when he came to hours after their early morning swim on March 6th.
While a judge ruled in the 22 year old’s favor, there were concerns about the actual possibility of Riibe returning home, given the judge said he was not ruling on the return of Riibe’s passport.
The prosecutor also indicated he was not responsible for returning the passport, prompting concerns about which agency was in possession of it, and how Riibe could go about accessing it to book a flight out of the country.
The Prosecutor’s Office of La Altagracia ultimately reached out to Riibe after winning his hearing, telling him they would return his passport.
Many unresolved questions as social media debate what happened
While he ‘appreciated this decision’, Riibe instead opted to apply for a new passport directly from the US Consulate, citing ‘privacy reasons.’
This application was dealt with immediately and his new passport was ‘promptly issued’, allowing him to book a flight home.
Konanki’s parents have accepted the conclusion offered by authorities that she likely drowned, and all parties say Riibe has been cooperative as the last known witness to see her alive.
‘Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides of the authorities have clarified the person of interest was not a suspect from the beginning,’ her father Subbarayudu Konanki told the nypost.
‘It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned,’ he said. ‘This is incredibly difficult for us to process.’
The couple urged Dominican authorities to allow Riibe to return home.
Her parents submitted a formal written request to the National Police for a ‘legal declaration of death.’
Read the motion: ‘Following an extensive search, Dominican authorities have concluded that Sudiksha is believed to have drowned. Her clothes were discovered on a beach near where she was last seen,’ the letter states.
‘While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.’
And then there were these comments on the web that caught this author’s attention. See what you think?
‘I hope they continue to look for this lively girl. I’m still not sure at all she drowned. I think maybe a guy involved in her death in some way, is just getting to fly away.’
‘Did he commit the perfect murder ? For a guy trying to make out with her, he seems not to care what happened to her.’
‘I find it so odd that after the incident at the beach he didn’t alert police or even friends about what happened, even the next day he could have. Many unanswered questions.’
‘My understanding is he didn’t change his story but it was due to translation issues.’
‘It’s a sad ending but I think he is 100 percent innocent – they were both foolish to go in the ocean as drunk as they were – the ocean can be dangerously brutal even with a strong swimmer. He took on water trying to save her.. his parents believe him and there is no sign of foul play – none!’
‘He is a strong wrestler and can easily immortalize her to do whatever wanted.’
‘We’ll never know what really happened without recovering the body or a confession. She did not deserve to die but the moral of this story is if all your friends want to leave, go with them.’
