WARNING: GRAPHIC
ATHENS, Ga. – Jose Ibarra, the suspect charged in Augusta College pupil Laken Riley’s February homicide at the College of Georgia campus, seemed in courtroom Friday for the beginning of his trial.
Ibarra, a 26-year-old unlawful immigrant from Venezuela, allegedly attacked and killed Riley, a 22-year-old nursing pupil, whilst she used to be 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 court docket round 7:30 a.m. Friday, about an hour and a part earlier than the beginning of the trial at 9 a.m., dressed in a blue plaid blouse and grey get dressed pants with shackles round his wrists.
Simply earlier than the beginning of the trial, roughly 20 participants of Riley’s circle of relatives entered the court docket dressed in solemn expressions.
WATCH: Listen Laken Riley’s 911 telephone name performed in court docket
“[H]e went trying to find women folk at the College of Georgia campus.”
“On Feb. 22, Jose Ibarra placed on a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket, and a few black kitchen-style disposable gloves, and he went trying to find women folk at the College of Georgia campus,” prosecutor Sheila Ross stated in her opening observation Friday. Riley’s sister teared up upon listening to Ross’ first statements.
Jose Ibarra, accused of killing a Georgia nursing pupil previous this 12 months, listens via an interpreter as he sits together with his legal professional Dustin Kirby left, all through his trial at Athens-Clarke County Awesome Court docket, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Magazine-Charter by the use of AP, Pool)
Ross stated Ibarra then encountered Riley on her standard morning run and attacked her.
“When Laken Riley refused to be his rape sufferer, he bashed her head in with a rock many times,” Ross stated.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross speaks in entrance of Awesome Court docket Pass judgement on H. Patrick Haggard all through an ordeal of Jose Ibarra, accused of killing a Georgia nursing pupil previous this 12 months, at Athens-Clarke County Awesome Court docket, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Magazine-Charter by the use of AP, Pool)
The suspect is charged with 10 counts overall, together with one rely of malice homicide, 3 counts of criminal homicide, one rely of kidnapping, one rely of irritated attack with intent to rape, one rely of irritated battery, one rely of hindering a 911 name, one rely of tampering with proof and one rely of being a “peeping Tom.” Ibarra has pleaded now not accountable to all counts.
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Laken Riley poses for a photograph posted to Fb. Riley, a nursing pupil on the College of Georgia, used to be discovered useless close to a lake on campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Fb)
On Tuesday, Pass judgement on Patrick Haggard granted Ibarra’s request for a bench trial over a jury trial, which means proof will probably be offered in courtroom simplest to Haggard slightly than earlier than a decided on jury.
Ibarra and his brothers, additionally in the USA illegally from Venezuela, lived in an rental development not up to a part mile from the on-campus park the place Riley used to be operating.
Jose Ibarra, accused of killing a Georgia nursing pupil previous this 12 months, listens via an interpreter all through his trial at Athens-Clarke County Awesome Court docket, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Magazine-Charter by the use of AP, Pool)
The defendant’s legal professional, Dustin Kirby, argued in his opening observation that proof would now not turn out past a cheap doubt that Ibarra killed Riley. He stated it might take “gymnastics” for the prosecution to argue that Ibarra killed Riley with what he described as “circumstantial proof.”
“[T]right here will have to now not be sufficient proof to persuade you past a cheap doubt that Mr. Ibarra is accountable of the crimes charged.”
Prosecutor Sheila Ross holds clothes Laken Riley wore as GBI Crime Scene Specialist Daniella Stuart, proper, testifies at the witness stand all through the trial of Jose Ibarra, accused of killing a Georgia nursing pupil previous this 12 months, at Athens-Clarke County Awesome Court docket, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Magazine-Charter by the use of AP, Pool)
“We waived a jury trial on this case, with the hope and consider that regardless of the character of this proof that you need to come to a verdict that used to be now not only a approach of of easing this circle of relatives’s struggling, however it used to be in keeping with an unbiased and fair evaluate of the proof on this case,” he stated. “If that occurs, and the presumption of innocence is revered, there will have to now not be sufficient proof to persuade you past a cheap doubt that Mr. Ibarra is accountable of the crimes charged.”
LAKEN RILEY MURDER: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECT IN GEORGIA COLLEGE STUDENT SLAYING ASKS TO HIDE CERTAIN EVIDENCE
Laken Riley smiles for a photograph whilst operating. Riley, a nursing pupil on the College of Georgia, used to be 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 Leader Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of alternative.”
Riley left house for her morning run at 9:03 a.m. at the morning of Feb. 22. By means of 9:11 a.m., Ross stated, Riley referred to as 911, which dispatch replied, however there used to be no reaction from Riley.
The 911 name used to be performed aloud in courtroom Friday. The decision used to be most commonly silent, with a dispatch operator pronouncing, “Clarke County 911, can any individual listen me?” however no voices might be heard responding. The one sounds over the process the seconds-long name have been birds chirping and a quiet noise towards the tip of the decision.
A memorial for Laken Riley is observed alongside Lake Herrick at the College of Georgia’s campus in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Riley, a 22-year-old nursing pupil, used to be discovered useless on a close-by path previous this week. (Mark Sims for Fox Information Virtual)
Riley’s roommates spotted she had now not returned from her run, and so they went to seek for her round at 11:31 a.m. At 11:46, they discovered certainly one of Riley’s AirPods at the flooring close to her same old operating trail and her closing identified location, which they knew via the use of the “To find My Pals” iPhone app.
Riley’s roommate, Sofia Magana, testified that she had taken a photograph of the realm the place she picked up Riley’s AirPod when she and their different roommate, Lilly Steiner, went out to search for her alongside the paths close to her closing identified location at the morning of Feb. 22. The 2 scholars reported her lacking to UGA campus police in a while after midday that day.
Jose Ibarra used to be arrested on Feb. 23 in reference to Laken Riley’s Feb. 22 homicide in Athens, Georgia. (Clarke County Sheriff’s Place of job)
The prosecution performed the decision aloud in courtroom whilst listening to testimony from Riley’s roommate, Lilly Steiner.
“Our roommate went out for a run at 9 . . . and we haven’t heard from her,” Steiner can also be heard pronouncing all through the decision. “We went to the place her closing identified location used to be, and all we discovered is an AirPod.”
Athens-Clarke County police officer Zachary Davis issues out the jacket he gathered from a dumpster on {photograph} as he testifies at the witness stand all through an ordeal of Jose Ibarra, accused of killing a Georgia nursing pupil previous this 12 months, at Athens-Clarke County Awesome Court docket, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Magazine-Charter by the use of AP, Pool)
At 12:37, UGA PD Sgt. Kenneth Maxwell discovered Laken subconscious and now not respiring. She used to be partly bare and lined in leaves. Government additionally spotted serious accidents to the facet of her head, and prosecutors consider Riley’s frame have been moved after her demise; investigators positioned her frame in a wooded house roughly 50 toes from the primary operating path.
WATCH: UGA POLICE BODYCAM PLAYED DURING TRIAL
Maxwell’s police bodycam pictures from the instant he discovered Riley’s frame used to be performed in courtroom, and Pass judgement on Haggard gave the ones provide within the court docket the chance to go away. Riley’s mom departed the court docket whilst her stepfather, father and sister remained seated.
The pictures confirmed Sgt. Maxwell finding Riley, whose head used to be lined in leaves, and making an attempt to accomplish CPR on her. Maxwell says within the bodycam video that it seemed as via Riley have been attacked. A couple of participants of Riley’s circle of relatives cried quietly in courtroom because the pictures used to be performed, as Ibarra many times checked out and clear of the video.
“At that time, I suspected this wasn’t an coincidence, in keeping with the cases,” Maxwell testified.
Allyson Phillips, left, mom of Laken Riley, cries as John Phillips, stepfather of Laken Riley, comforts her all through Ibarra’s trial at Athens-Clarke County Awesome Court docket, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Magazine-Charter by the use of AP, Pool)
Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Particular Agent Daniella Stuart, the state’s 6th witness on Friday, stated she had analyzed and photographed the crime scene round 2 p.m. on Feb. 22. The graphic pictures displayed in courtroom confirmed Riley’s injured torso and head. Riley’s circle of relatives used to be now not provide within the court docket all through Stuart’s testimony.
“Some roughly vital disturbance took place in that house,” Stuart testified whilst describing blood stains and hair on a rock close to the realm the place officers had came upon Riley’s frame.
The particular agent showed that she had seen a latent print at the backside of Riley’s iPhone, close to the realm the place somebody would hold up a decision the use of their finger.
Jose Ibarra, accused of killing a Georgia nursing pupil previous this 12 months, listens via an interpreter as he sits together with his lawyers Dustin Kirby, 2nd left, and Kaitlyn Beck, left, all through his trial at Athens-Clarke County Awesome Court docket, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens, Ga. (Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Magazine-Charter by the use of AP, Pool)
Investigators with the Athens-Clarke County Police Division, UGA and the FBI in an instant started on the lookout for suspects. At the night time of Feb. 22, investigators with all concerned entities went “dumpster diving” across the house the place RIley have been killed, on the lookout for proof, Ross stated.
The prosecutor described their findings that night time as “a mix of fine police paintings and good fortune.”
At a dumpster close to the rental complicated the place Ibarra lived, an officer discovered a “suspicious” darkish sweatshirt with hair and blood on it. Government in an instant submitted the sweatshirt to a lab for trying out.
Officer Zachary Davis, the state’s 7th witness to testify Friday, stated he have been checking dumpsters at rental complexes across the UGA trails the place Riley have been discovered. In a single dumpster, he spotted the darkish sweatshirt after which bodily went into the dumpster, which have been classified as strictly for recyclable pieces, to get a greater have a look at the object simply earlier than 10 p.m. on Feb. 22. Davis’ police-worn bodycam pictures presentations him finding the article and placing it in an explanation bag.
Jose Ibarra seems in courtroom for a pretrial proof listening to in Athens, Ga., on Nov. 1, 2024. (Robin Rayne for Fox Information Virtual)
“There’s hair at the buttons, ripped up sleeves,” Davis can also be heard telling his fellow officials. He can then be heard asking them, “Was once she a brunette?”
An rental close by had a doorbell video digicam with a view of the dumpster, and round 9:40 a.m. on Feb. 22, the digicam captured a person eliminating one thing within the dumpster. A girl dwelling in Ibarra’s rental, Rosbeli Flores-Bello, would later establish the person within the video as Ibarra.
Investigators would later take a look at the recovered jacket for DNA proof and discover a aggregate of each Jose Ibarra’s and Riley’s DNA at the pieces.
Investigators would additionally to find Ibarra’s DNA underneath Riley’s fingernails, Ross stated. The suspect had bruising and scratches all the way through his frame on the time of his arrest, in line with Ross and Particular Agent Stuart, who photographed his accidents.
Awesome Court docket Pass judgement on H. Patrick Haggard listens all through an ordeal of Jose Ibarra, accused of killing a Georgia nursing pupil previous this 12 months, at Athens-Clarke County Awesome Court docket, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Athens, Ga.
The peeping Tom rate stems from any other Feb. 22 incident by which the suspect allegedly went to a place of abode on UGA’s campus in Athens and “peeped via” a window and “spied upon” a college team of workers member, in line with the indictment.
Ross stated a male particular person have been captured on video digicam pictures seeking to open a UGA graduate pupil’s door round 7 a.m. at the similar morning that Riley used to be killed. Proof confirmed that the person haad long gone to the coed’s door “six instances” and peeped in the course of the pupil’s open home windows, Ross stated in her opening observation. The coed referred to as 911 at 7:57 a.m. that morning and reported listening to somebody seeking to “destroy into” her rental.
Jose Ibarra seems in courtroom for a pre-trial proof listening to in Athens, Georgia on Friday, November 1, 2024. Ibarra is on trial for the demise of College of Georgia pupil Laken Riley in February. (Robin Rayne for Fox Information Virtual)
Previous to the peeping Tom incident, a person matching the suspect’s description seemed on surveillance video pictures retaining a white cup, Ross stated in her opening observation. UGA PD Lt. Daniel Saunders, the state’s 8th witness, testified on Friday afternoon that he had positioned a white cup close to a big rock via the crime scene containing contents that smelled of alcohol.
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Ibarra illegally crossed into the USA via El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and used to be launched into the U.S. by the use of parole, ICE and DHS resources prior to now instructed Fox Information.
The world the place Laken Riley’s frame used to be discovered close to Lake Herrick at the College of Georgia’s campus in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Jose Antonio Ibarra has been charged with the homicide of Riley. (Mark Sims for Fox Information Virtual)
His older brother, Diego Ibarra, who labored in brief in a UGA cafeteria earlier than his arrest in February, is charged with inexperienced card fraud and had ties to a identified Venezuelan gang within the U.S. referred to as Tren de Aragua, in line with federal courtroom paperwork.
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ICE prior to now showed to Fox Information Virtual that Jose Ibarra have been arrested via the New York Police Division a 12 months after he entered the U.S. in August 2023 and have been “charged with performing in a way to injure a kid not up to 17 and a motor automobile license violation.”
Fox Information’ Adam Shaw contributed to this document.
