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OAN Staff Abril Elfi
5:42 PM – Tuesday, March 18, 2025
A judge has ruled that Joshua Riibe is “free to leave” the Dominican Republic, after being held in the country following the disappearance of 20-year-old University of Pittsburg student Sudiksha Konanki.
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On Tuesday, a judge in the Dominican Republic ruled during a hearing that Riibe is free to return home.
“Joshua Riibe is free to leave,” the judge declared, following a hearing that lasted several hours and hours more of deliberation.
Ribbe told Judge Elvis Delgado during the heated closed-door hearing, according to Noticias SIN, that he’s “ready to go home and go back to my life.”
“I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs, tell them I miss them,” Ribbe said. “I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been 10 days and I can’t leave.”
Riibe is not accused of her murder, but he has been held under surveillance at the resort since Sudiksha was reported missing.
The 22-year-old man claims that he was essentially a prisoner at the RIU Hotel & Resort, with his phone confiscated and cops accompanying him whenever he exited the room — even eating meals with him.
The decision to free him came after Konanki’s parents stated that they now believe she drowned in the strong waves off Punta Cana, and that Riibe had no role in her death.
“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 told The New York Post. “It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned.”
Lawyers for the Dominican government disputed that Riibe was being “detained,” claiming he was just a witness in the case and that he had willingly surrendered his passport to police. They also noted that he was never “interrogated” by police, only “interviewed,” the outlet stated.
Nevertheless, the judge didn’t agree with the government’s argument, therefore, he granted Riibe’s request to leave the country — freeing him to return home to Iowa.
Authorities confirmed that Carter Joseph, a friend who was with Riibe at the resort, is also still in the Dominican Republic, but they did not indicate whether he is being held against his will.
More than 50 people were interviewed in the investigation, including Riibe, according to officials.
On March 6th, 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki vanished while on spring break in the Dominican Republic.
According to surveillance video, she walked down to the beach with seven other people at around 4:15 a.m. However, most of the group was seen coming back at around 6 a.m., leaving her alone with Riibe — though he eventually came back without her, hours later.
“When I finally touched the sand, I put her in front of me. Then she got up to go get her stuff since the ocean had moved us,” Riibe told the prosecutor. “She was not out of the water since it was up to her knee. She was walking at an angle in the water.”
“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK. I didn’t hear her response because I began to vomit with all the water I had swallowed,” he said. “After vomiting, I looked around and I didn’t see anyone. I thought she had taken her things and left.”
Riibe claims he vomited, passed out on a beach chair, woke up hours later, and then returned to his hotel room.
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