Laken Riley’s murder trial begins in Georgia

The trial of the illegal immigrant accused of killing Georgian nursing student Laken Riley began Friday and his fate will be decided by a judge – no jury.

Jose Ibarra – a Venezuelan who illegally entered the US through the southern border – stands up charged with Riley’s murder22, on February 22 while she was running in Athens, Georgia.

Prosecutors allege 26-year-old Ibarra attacked the Augusta University nursing student, hit her head and choked her with the plan to sexually assault her.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges of malice murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and related crimes and faces up to life in prison without parole if convicted. He also faces a charge of peeping on a University of Georgia employee on the same day as the murder.

Prosecutors have chosen not to press for the death penalty in the Ibarra case.

On Tuesday — the day before jury selection was to begin — Ibarra waived his right to a trial by 12 of his colleagues, opting to have the case decided by Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.

The case began around 9 a.m. in an Athens-Clarke County courtroom in the city of the murder.

Ibarra’s defense team lost a bid earlier this month to postpone the trial and block evidence, including DNA, fingerprints and mobile phone data, on these grounds would have been collected incorrectly by investigators and that the defense needed more time to review the case.

The case against Ibarra, whose family has ties to the infamous Tren de Aragua gang, captured the national spotlight because Ibarra was released by immigration authorities after illegally entering the U.S. through El Paso, Texas, due to space constraints.

He was arrested in the Big Apple in August 2023 for illegally riding a gas moped with a 5-year-old on the back without a helmet or seat belt, but was released again.

Ibarra then fled to Georgia to join his brother Diego, one of his relatives with ties to the dangerous gang where he lives.

The brothers were arrested in Georgia in September 2023 for allegedly stealing from a Walmart.

Riley’s body was found near her apartment after her friend alerted authorities that she had not returned home from her morning jog. Police say Ibarra’s attack on Riley appeared to be a random crime of opportunity.

He was arrested a day later and has been jailed without bail ever since.

Prosecutors plan to present a slew of evidence at trial linking Ibarra to the crime, including fingerprints taken from Riley’s phone and DNA evidence taken from her fingernails.