Laken Riley’s murder suspect wants some evidence suppressed while the trial date is set

Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan illegal immigrant, was charged The murder of Laken Riley in Februarywill appear in court Friday for a hearing to argue that certain evidence, including cell phone records and DNA, should not be admitted in his trial.

Ibarra’s defense has previously filed motions to suppress cellphone evidence that his attorneys say was obtained illegally by the police, and testimony from a witness who conducted DNA testing during Riley’s autopsy, claiming the results “did not rule out suspect, but also did not rule out any other known person involved in the case.”

The hearing will take place about two weeks before Ibarra’s trial begins Nov. 18 in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.

Ibarra, 26, is accused of attacking and killing Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, while she was running on dirt trails on the morning of Feb. 22 on the University of Georgia campus in Athens.

MURDER IN LAEKEN RILEY: SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT IN GEORGIA STUDENT DEATHS ASKED TO HIDE CERTAIN EVIDENCE

Jose Ibarra appears in court for a status hearing in the Laken Riley murder case. (WAGA)

In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on charges of malice murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily harm, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, hindering or hindering a person from calling 911 making phone calls, tampering with evidence and being a ‘voyeur’.

The peeping tom charge stems from another february 22 incident in which the suspect allegedly went to a residence on UGA’s campuswhere he “peeped through a window” and “spyed” on a university employee, the complaint alleges.

SUSPECT IN LAKEN RILEY’S MURDER HAS BEEN INDICATED

Laken Riley smiles while running for a photo. Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, was found dead on February 22, 2024, near a lake on the University of Georgia campus. (Laken Riley/Instagram)

Ibarra tried to have the “voyeur” charge dropped from his case, but prosecutors claim the two incidents are “inextricably linked.”

READ THE ORDER DENIING IBARRA’S MOTION TO SEPARATE. MOBILE USERS CLICK HERE.

“Trek 10 is said to have taken place on the same morning Ms Riley was murdered, and the alleged crimes took place within 300 meters of each other. … The suspect’s alleged crimes are inextricably linked, as he allegedly went to an apartment complex and failed to enter the woman’s apartment. and then went to a nearby wooded area where students are often jogging or exercising,” prosecutors wrote in a court document filed Oct. 28.

LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT JOSE IBARRA CLAIMS NOT GUILTY, MOTHER SOBS IN COURT

Jose Ibarra was arrested on February 23 for the murder of Laken Riley on February 22 in Athens, Georgia. (Clarke County Sheriff’s Office)

The court ultimately ordered that the Peeping Tom charge not be severed from his case.

LAKEN RILEY’S FATHER TELLS SUSPECT ‘WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN HERE’ IF BORDER WAS SAFE

Ibarra and his brothers, who also came to the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived in an apartment complex on the edge of the campus park where Riley ran. Ibarra is said to have murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a ‘crime of opportunity’.

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was found dead on February 22, 2024, near a lake on the University of Georgia campus. (Allyson Philips/Facebook)

The quiet, wooded loop Riley walked that morning is easily accessible from the back of Ibarra’s apartment complex. It’s a five-minute walk from Ibarra’s door to the approximate location where Riley was found dead.

The 26-year-old suspect entered the United States illegally El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released on parole to the US, ICE and DHS sources previously told Fox News.

His older brother, Diego Ibarra, is accused of green card fraud and had ties to a known Venezuelan gang in the U.S. called Tren de Aragua, according to federal court documents.

Federal prosecutors say illegal immigrants in the U.S. cannot legally own guns. However, Homeland Security Investigations officers found Diego Ibarra posing with multiple guns on his social media accounts, according to court documents. (Middle District of Georgia)

Riley’s death has been mentioned frequently during the 2024 presidential election, as Republicans and Democrats have debated the consequences of illegal immigration for the past four years.

Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are among women reportedly killed by illegal immigrants in the past two years.

Most recently former President Clinton brought up Riley’s killing during a campaign visit to Georgia on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn.

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was found dead on February 22 near a lake on the University of Georgia campus. An illegal immigrant has been charged with her murder. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

“(Harris is) the only candidate who actually passed a bill that would limit immigration to a certain point every year and then made sure that we gave people a decent place to live, and didn’t separate people from their children. And we carried out a total check before people entered. Now Trump has killed the bill,” Clinton said during the campaign stop.

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“You had a case in Georgia not too long ago, didn’t you? They made an ad about it. A young woman murdered by an immigrant. Yes, if they had all been properly vetted, they probably would have been. “That didn’t happen,” the former president said.

Republicans have argued that Democratic immigration policy the Biden-Harris administration led to a record 7.2 million illegal immigrants entering the country in four years, a number greater than population of 36 states.