Murder of Laken Riley: Jose Ibarra returns to court for hearing on DNA evidence

ATHENS, Ga. – José Ibarra, the man charged with the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the campus of the University of Georgia, will be back in court Friday for a hearing on whether DNA evidence can be used at his upcoming trial.

Ibarra is accused of murder and other crimes in Riley’s murder in February. A 10-count indictment charges Ibarra struck the 22-year-old Augusta University College of Nursing student in the head, choked her and pulled up her clothing with the intent to sexually assault her. Ibarra pleaded not guilty to the accusations.

Prosecutors previously announced evidence against Ibarra, including a fingerprint from Riley’s phone, DNA from her fingernails and video footage.

Ibarra’s defense has argued that the DNA evidence is unreliable. filed a motion in October to attempt to eliminate the information collected from a cheek swab from the evidence, arguing that it was collected by law enforcement agencies without a warrant.

The DNA evidence would be discussed during an earlier hearingbut the laboratory results were not ready on that date.

Ibarra wants mobile phones to be thrown away

Riley’s body was found near Lake Herrick in February after she didn’t return home from a morning run. Investigators say they were able to identify Ibarra as a potential suspect when they searched his brother’s apartment, where he lives.

During the search, two cellphones belonging to Jose Ibarra were seized, but were not searched until a later warrant was obtained. Ibarra was arrested that day on an outstanding warrant before being charged with Riley’s murder.

As with the DNA, Ibarra’s lawyer wants to prevent these cell phones from being introduced as evidence. In a motion granted Oct. 28 by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, the defense may seek to reopen evidence related to a previous suppression motion heard earlier this month. The documents do not indicate what evidence could lead to the exclusion of both mobile phones.

Ibarra murder case remains in Athens

In October, Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard ruled has denied a defense request to move the trial out of Athens-Clarke County. The defense cited that the extensive media coverage would make it difficult for Ibarra to receive a fair trial and that the jury could be inherently biased.

While the judge admitted that this is a high-profile case, he added that news of the case has reached across Georgia and even made national news. He said widespread pretrial publicity alone does not automatically justify a change of venue.

Under Georgian law, a change of venue is only justified if the publicity is factually incorrect, inflammatory or creates a hostile atmosphere. The judge ruled that the suspect had not provided evidence showing that any of these conditions had been met.

The judge added that a change of venue would also not affect the jurors’ ability to remain objective.

In addition to the DNA hearing, a preliminary motions hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12 Jury selection begins on November 13. Ibarra’s trial will begin at 9 a.m. on November 18 with opening statements.