ATHENS, Ga. – Jose Ibarra, the suspect charged in Augusta College scholar Laken Riley’s February homicide on the College of Georgia campus, is about to seem in courtroom Friday for the beginning of his trial.
Ibarra, a 26-year-old unlawful immigrant from Venezuela, arrived in courtroom round 7:30 a.m. Friday. He allegedly attacked and killed Riley, a 22-year-old nursing scholar, whereas she was jogging alongside trails close to Lake Herrick on UGA’s campus the morning of Feb. 22.
Two safety guards escorted Ibarra into the Athens-Clarke County courtroom Friday morning, about an hour-and-a-half earlier than the beginning of the trial at 9 a.m., sporting a blue plaid shirt and grey gown pants with shackles round his wrists.
Simply earlier than the beginning of the trial, roughly 20 members of Riley’s household entered the courtroom sporting solemn expressions.
The suspect is charged with 10 counts complete, together with one depend of malice homicide, three counts of felony homicide, one depend of kidnapping, one depend of aggravated assault, one depend of aggravated battery, one depend of hindering a 911 name, one depend of tampering with proof and one depend of being a “peeping Tom.”
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Jose Ibarra seems in courtroom for a movement listening to on Oct. 11, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (AP Picture/Brynn Anderson/Pool)
On Tuesday, Decide Patrick Haggard granted Ibarra’s request for a bench trial over a jury trial, which means proof shall be offered in courtroom solely to Haggard slightly than earlier than a particular jury.
“He is fast-tracking himself to life with out parole by doing this,” Georgia-based legal protection lawyer Philip Holloway beforehand instructed Fox Information Digital. “It definitely will pace issues up.”
Laken Riley poses for a photograph posted to Fb. Riley, a nursing scholar on the College of Georgia, was discovered useless close to a lake on campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Fb)
Proof that shall be offered throughout Ibarra’s trial contains fingerprints, DNA, cellphone information, in addition to a jacket and gloves recovered from a dumpster exterior Ibarra’s condo complicated and a “peeping Tom” incident reported on UGA’s campus the identical morning Riley was killed.
Ibarra and his brothers, additionally in the USA illegally from Venezuela, lived in an condo constructing lower than a half mile from the on-campus park the place Riley was working.
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Laken Riley smiles for a photograph whereas working. Riley, a nursing scholar on the College of Georgia, was discovered useless close to a lake on campus on Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Instagram)
Ibarra allegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of alternative.”
The peeping Tom cost stems from one other Feb. 22 incident by which the suspect allegedly went to a residence on UGA’s campus in Athens and “peeped by way of” a window and “spied upon” a college employees member, in keeping with the indictment.
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Jose Ibarra seems in courtroom for a pretrial proof listening to in Athens, Ga., on Nov. 1, 2024. (Robin Rayne for Fox Information Digital)
Ibarra illegally crossed into the USA by way of El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was launched into the U.S. by way of parole, ICE and DHS sources beforehand instructed Fox Information.
His older brother, Diego Ibarra, who labored briefly in a UGA cafeteria earlier than his arrest in February, is charged with inexperienced card fraud and had ties to a recognized Venezuelan gang within the U.S. referred to as Tren de Aragua, in keeping with federal courtroom paperwork.
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ICE beforehand confirmed to Fox Information Digital that Jose Ibarra had been arrested by the New York Police Division a 12 months after he entered the U.S. in August 2023 and was “charged with performing in a fashion to injure a baby lower than 17 and a motorized vehicle license violation.”
Fox Information’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
