José Ibarra, the Venezuelan immigrant who killed nursing student Laken Riley in Georgia, USAwas sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The case of the undocumented immigrant was at the center of the national debate on immigration not only because of the impact that the atrocious crime had on American society, but also because it was used by donald trump during his presidential campaign to underpin his anti-immigrant discourse, marked by the association he usually makes with the arrival of Hispanics to the country with crime.
Riley22 years old, was attacked by Ibarra in February while running on a trail on the campus of the University of Georgia (UGA)in Athens.
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Judge H. Patrick Haggard of the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court found Ibarra guilty of the 10 charges: one count of murder with malice; three counts of felony murder; and one count each of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated assault, interference with an emergency call, tampering with evidence and voyeurism.
How did the crime occur?
Laken Hope Riley was studying nursing.
On September 8, 2022, Jose Ibarra entered the United States irregularly through the state of Texas. He was detained by immigration authorities, but like many migrants, he was released with temporary permission to remain in the country while a court reviewed his case. He first went to New York and last year he moved to Athens, Georgiabecause his brother lived there.
On September 13, 2023, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News that the NYPD arrested Ibarra for having tried to harm a “minor under 17 years of age” and for having driven a motorcycle without a license.
In Georgia He had also been arrested for theft.
The Riley crime occurred on February 22, 2024. That day she left home at 9:03 in the morning and headed to the wooded trails of UGA where she used to play sports. Data from her watch shows that at 9:10 a.m. she was running at a fast pace, when something happened that caused her to stop in her tracks. The woman called 911 at 9:11 a.m., according to Univision.
A 911 operator responded but no one spoke on the other end. The operator called back, there was no response.
When Ibarra intercepted Riley“he took her 19.79 meters off the trail with the purpose of victimizing her” said during the trial the prosecutor Sheila Ross.
Ibarra hit Riley in the head with a rock several times and suffocated her. According to prosecutors, the migrant’s initial intention was to sexually abuse the young woman.
The body of Riley He was found on the same day of the crime on the trails after a friend reported to the police that he had not returned.
When the body of Rileyher breasts were exposed, all three layers of her top clothing were lifted, her leggings were pulled down, her underwear was torn and pulled out of her tights, prosecutors said.
The medical examiner ruled that Riley’s death was a homicide caused by the combined effects of blunt force head trauma and asphyxiation.
José Antonio Ibarra is 26 years old and entered the United States undocumented.
Jose Ibarra He was arrested by the University of Georgia Police the day after the crime. After his arrest, his brother was questioned by the authorities.
Ibarra appeared before the Clarke County judge, Donald Greenon February 24. The magistrate denied him the right to be released on bail.
That same day, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp linked the crime to “Joe Biden’s failed policies.”
On March 9, the parents of Riley they met with trump during a Republican campaign event in Georgia. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign took the opportunity to criticize the border policies of Biden, who at that time was the Democratic Party’s candidate for re-election.
Jose Ibarra26, waived his right to a jury trial on November 12.
The trial against Ibarra began on November 15. That day, prosecutors called more than a dozen police officers, roommates of Riley and to a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra.
The evidence against José Ibarra
Donald Trump supporters hold images of Laken Riley during a rally in Rome, Georgia, on March 9, 2024. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP).
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Three days later, Prosecutors presented evidence against Ibarra. One of the pieces of evidence was a jailhouse call recorded by the FBI between the defendant and his wife Layling Franco. In the conversation, she asked him to “tell the truth.”
During the short trial, the prosecutor Sheila Ross He said forensic analysis found Ibarra’s DNA on Riley’s nailsaccording to Univision.
Additionally, Police Sergeant Joshua Epps said at trial that when he was arrested Ibarra had “nail scratches” on his arms and one of his wrists..
For her part, Ashley Hinkle, from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime laboratory, stated that there must be physical contact between two or more people for there to be DNA on the nails.
Univision reported that prosecutors also presented evidence of Riley and Ibarra’s DNA on a blue jacket police found in a dumpster from the apartment complex where he lived.
A witness said he had seen a person in a blue jacket on the day of the murder. Riley.
Locks of long hair were found on one of the buttons of the jacket.
Prosecutors also presented Security camera videos showing Ibarra throwing a blue jacket into a trash container.
Furthermore, one of the brothers of Ibarra confirmed that the person who was in the video was the accused.
The day of the crime, Ibarra was also caught on video loitering outside a graduate student’s apartment.. The woman told police someone tried to break in through the front door while she was in the shower. The man looked out his window, he maintained.
Prosecutor Ross said that Ibarra was “lurking and hunting women” and when he couldn’t get into the apartment he headed to the trails to run in search of a victim, Univision reported.
Prosecutors also found a fingerprint on the phone Rileywhich was later identified by a specialist as belonging to Ibarra.
The lawyers of Ibarra They argued that the evidence against him was circumstantial and inconclusive.
Who was Laken Riley?
Laken Riley was 22 years old.
Laken Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University. He was scheduled to graduate in 2025.
The young woman went for a run every morning and then spoke on the phone with her mother, according to CNN.
Originally from Woodstock, Georgia, Riley He graduated in 2020 from River Ridge High School, where he was a member of the track team, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In a statement after the murder, Cherokee County Superintendent of Education Brian Hightower said: “Our community and our world have lost a bright light with Laken’s tragic passing. An outstanding scholastic athlete, Laken inspired classmates and teachers with her love of learning and her kindness toward all. “We ask the community to keep his family in their hearts.”
Riley She was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority at the University of Georgia, where she had also studied.
In March, Riley’s father, Jason Rileytold NBC News that he was “angry” that his daughter’s case was being “used politically to get votes.” Although he stated that he supports Trump and agreed with the need to secure the southern border, he maintained that he would prefer that his daughter’s death not be used for politics.
In a social media post Wednesday following Ibarra’s sentencing, Trump wrote: “We love you, Laken, and our hearts will always be with you. It’s time to secure our border and drive these criminals and thugs out of our country, so nothing like this can happen again!”.
