Murder Suspect 'Went Hunting For Females': Laken Riley Trial

Updated at 6:45 p.m. Friday

ATHENS, GA — The murder trial of the Venezuelan man accused of killing 22-year-old Laken Riley, who died of blunt force trauma in February on the University of Georgia's campus, began Friday. A prosecutor argued the suspect "went hunting for females” on school grounds.

The trial against Jose Ibarra, 26, who entered the U.S. illegally two years ago, on nearly a dozen charges, is ongoing in an Athens-Clarke County courtroom. Media outlet Law and Crime Network is live-streaming the trial.

Ibarra was accused of asphyxiating Riley and hitting her in the head, the Associated Press reported, adding he was accused of planning to sexually assault her. State prosecutors are requesting a sentence of life in prison without parole rather than the death penalty.

Ibarra killed nursing student Laken Riley after a struggle, a prosecutor said Friday. A defense attorney said the evidence is circumstantial and doesn't prove his client is guilty.

Ibarra on Tuesday formally waived his rights to a jury trial, leaving his fate in the judge's hands.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge that Ibarra encountered Riley while she was out running on Feb. 22.

“When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly,” Ross said, adding that the evidence will show that Riley “fought for her life, for her dignity.”

As a result of that fight, Ibarra's DNA was left under her fingernails, Ross said. Riley called 911 and, in a struggle over her phone, Ibarra's thumbprint was left on the screen, she said.

The forensic evidence is sufficient to prove Ibarra's guilt, but digital and video evidence will also show that Ibarra killed Riley, the prosecutor said.

Defense attorney Dustin Kirby called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing, but he said none of it proves that his client killed Riley.

“The evidence in this case is very good that Laken Riley was murdered," he said. "The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial. The evidence that anyone had any intent or certainly committed any sexual assault is speculation.”

The killing added fuel to the national debate over immigration when federal authorities said Ibarra, who is Venezuelan, illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case, the AP said.

Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, blamed Democratic President Joe Biden’s border policies for Riley's death. As he spoke about border security during his State of the Union address just weeks after the killing, Biden mentioned Riley by name.

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Riley was reported missing by someone who said their friend had gone for an early morning run at the campus' fields and did not return home as expected, UGA officials said at the time.

UGA Police were alerted around noon and conducted a welfare check. Officers found Riley unconscious around 12:30 p.m. in a forest behind Lake Herrick, officials said. She had visible injuries and died at the scene.

Prosecutors say that on the day of Riley’s killing, Ibarra peered into the window of an apartment in a university housing building, which is the basis for the peeping Tom charge.

Clarke County Jail records showed Ibarra was charged on suspicion of:

• Second-degree murder
• Aggravated battery
• Aggravated assault
• False imprisonment
• Kidnapping
• Obstruction/hindering person making emergency telephone call
• Concealing death of another person
• Failure to appear for fingerprintable charge
• Tampering with evidence
• Peeping Tom

He is being held for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, jail records showed.