A man accused of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been found guilty in a case that fueled the national debate on immigration during this year’s presidential election.
Jose Ibarra, 26, is from Venezuela and came to the U.S. illegally in 2022. He was charged with murder and other crimes in the death of Riley on February 22. Riley was found dead on the campus running trails in Athens while out for a morning run.
Ibarra was found guilty and given a sentence of life in prison without the chance of parole.
The choice was made by Judge H. Patrick Haggard of the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Wednesday, after Ibarra gave up his right to a jury trial.
After three days of testimony, Ibarra’s trial ended early Wednesday morning. The prosecutors called 29 witnesses, such as police officers, Riley’s roommates, and a woman who lived with Ibarra in the same apartment.
At the beginning of the case, prosecutor Sheila Ross said that Ibarra had been “hunting” for women on the day of the murder, but when he found Riley, she “fought back.” When she “refused to be a rape victim,” he hit her head over and over with a rock.
Dr. Dustin Kirby, the defense lawyer, said that Riley’s death was tragic and that the evidence in the case was scary and graphic.
But he said there was not enough proof to show it was Ibarra and asked how his fingerprints could be on the phone when he said he was wearing gloves.
“This case has a lot of proof that Laken Riley was killed,” Kirby said. “There are only a few signs that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley.”
On Tuesday, the defense called a police officer, a jogger, and one of Ibarra’s neighbors. On Wednesday morning, they took a break from their case.
Every day, Riley’s parents, family, and friends crowded into court, and many of them got emotional as they heard from witnesses.
Ibarra wore a collared shirt and dark pants every day and had chains around his feet. He seemed attentive during the whole trial.
During the trial, Riley’s family and friends gave heartbreaking testimony about how her death has changed their lives.
The person who lives with Riley said, “I no longer run every day.” “I can not imagine running when I have to look over my shoulder all the time in public and wonder if I am next.”
Every day, I feel unbearable guilt that I was not with Laken on this run and that it was she, not me. I hope and pray that it will never happen to anyone else.
Allyson Phillips, Riley’s mother, gave a heartbreaking statement in which she said Ibarra “took away every beautiful memory we will ever be able to make with Riley again.”
“Laken was not the only person who died that day when Jose Ibarra attacked her.” Her family and friends were also killed. “We will all never be the same,” she said.
“This scary thing took away our chance to see Laken finish nursing school.” He stopped us from meeting our future son-in-law. He took away our chance to meet our grandchildren. He also took my best friend.
President-elect Donald Trump also spoke out about the verdict. During the campaign, Trump often used Riley’s death to make racist comments about immigrants.
“GET JUSTICE FOR LAKEN RILEY!” It was just found that the illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was GUILTY of all charges, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“The pain and heartbreak will never go away, but I hope this brings some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for justice and keeps other families from having to go through what they did.”