Minnesota College student lawyers who was with the student of the University of Pittsburgh Sudiksha Konanki the night he disappeared in Punta Cana requested a habeas corpus audience, a source from the Ministry of Justice of the Dominican Republic told ABC News.
Joshua Riibe, who has not been accused of a crime, has been interrogated by prosecutors for three days, said an official close to the investigation to ABC News.
Riibe’s lawyers believe that he is being illegally arrested and want to prevent the 22 -year -old being in custody, the source said. The authorities have confiscated Riibe’s passport and his lawyers said he is being guarded at his hotel.
Sudiksha Konanki is seen in this photo without a shared date.
SUDIKSHA KONANKI THROUGH META
In the Dominican Republic, people can challenge an illegal detention through a habeas corpus audience. It is required that detained persons be submitted to a judge within 48 hours, or must be accused or released.
A ruling on the Habeas Corpus hearing request cannot avoid an arrest warrant by the Dominican authorities, according to Riibe’s lawyer and a source of the Ministry of Justice of the Dominican Republic.
The authorities said they believe that Konanki, 20, died from drowning, authorities told ABC News.
His case of missing persons is being treated as an accident, sources said. The authorities said Riibe is not a suspect and is cooperating and being questioned as a witness.
A member of the Canine Civil Defense Unit looks for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the United States who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, March. 10, 2025.
Francesco Spotorno/AP
Konanki was on spring vacation with his friends in Punta Cana when he disappeared in the early hours of March 6.
She was part of a group that went to a nightclub and then walking the beach, officials involved in the investigation of ABC News said.
Most of the group returned to the hotel around 5:55 am after its drinking night.
Riibe, whom Konanki met that night, stayed with her on the beach, according to a police report from the Dominican Republic.
Riibe told the prosecutor that the two went to swim and kissed. He said they were then beaten by a wave and stopped in the ocean by the tide, according to a transcription provided to ABC News of two sources from the Dominican Republic.
Riibe said he held Konanki and tried to get them out of the water.
“I was trying to make sure that she could breathe all the time, that prevented me from breathing all the time and took a lot of water,” he said.
“When I finally touched the sand, put it in front of me. He then got up to look for his things since the ocean had transferred us, “Riibe told the prosecutor.” He was not out of the water since he was knee. I was walking at an angle in the water. “
“The last time I saw her, I asked him if he was fine. I didn’t hear his answer 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 I had taken their things and left.”
Riibe said he passed out in a beach chair and woke up hours later and returned to his hotel room.
Ellie Kaufman of ABC News contributed to this report.
