In a case that became a hot topic in the immigration discussion earlier this year, before of the presidential election, the man who was charged with the death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley was convicted guilty of murder on Wednesday.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was found guilty of three charges of felony murder as well as counts of “peeping Tom,” aggravated assault with intent to rape, malice murder, and kidnapping with bodily damage. Prosecutors requested that he be sentenced to life in jail without the possibility of release.
On the fourth day of a bench trial, Judge H. Patrick Haggard of the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court rendered the verdict. Ibarra did not testify in his own defense and gave up his right to a jury trial.
After closing arguments, Haggard took a 20-minute pause before delivering the verdict. As he spoke, the courtroom was filled with sobs. Prior to Ibarra’s sentencing, victim impact statements were given by Riley’s parents, sister, stepfather, housemates, and friends.
Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, sobbed as she delivered her statement, accusing Ibarra of having “robbed us all of our hopes and dreams with Laken.”
“This monster took away our chances to see Laken graduate from nursing school,” Phillips stated. “He took away our ability to meet our future son-in-law. He destroyed our chances of meeting our grandchildren, and he took my best friend.”
“He took away every beautiful memory we won’t ever be able to make with her again,” she stated.
In order to ensure that Ibarra never has the opportunity to harm anybody else again, Phillips pleaded with the judge to sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of release.
Ibarra allegedly harassed Riley on the morning of February 22 when she was out for a run, according to the prosecution. When she failed to come home, her roommates alerted the police, and she was discovered dead in a wooded area off the University of Georgia campus in Athens.
Following the announcement by officials that Ibarra is a Venezuelan national who entered the country illegally in 2022, Riley’s murder brought the immigration question to the attention of the country. Riley’s parents met with Donald Trump and other Republicans prior to a March campaign rally, and they have since used the incident to demand more stringent border controls.
Prosecutors claimed throughout the trial that Riley resisted Ibarra’s attempt to rape her, which resulted to his death. DNA and other evidence, according to the prosecution, connected Ibarra to Riley on the day of her murder.
Riley “herself has given you all the evidence you need alone to find this man guilty of every single count in this indictment,” prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge during closing remarks.
According to Ross, Riley battled her assailant, and “the physical evidence you need to convict is directly related to that fight.”
Although the evidence demonstrated Riley’s murder, defense lawyers said it did not establish Ibarra’s involvement in the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Rather, they claimed that Diego Ibarra, Ibarra’s brother, had the ability to murder the nursing student.
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In her closing statement, Kaitlyn Beck stated that there were two possible explanations that could not be completely ruled out: either Diego was the murderer of Riley, or “Jose was an accomplice after the fact of the murder.”
By implying that the DNA was tainted because Jose and Diego Ibarra shared a bed and clothes, she attempted to discredit the prosecution’s case.
Police previously stated that Ibarra had no known substantial criminal history and that there was no indication that he knew the victim.
