Laken Riley’s murder suspect, Jose Ibarra, appears in court ahead of trial

Jose Ibarra, Venezuelan citizen accused of murder Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus chose a trial by judge over a jury in February.

Ibarra, 26, is accused of attacking and killing Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, while she was jogging frequented sidewalks on UGA’s campus on the morning of February 22.

He appeared in court Tuesday, when his defense team and prosecutors asked Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard for a trial instead of a jury trial, which Haggard granted. The criminal trial starts on Friday.

“This defendant only wants to seek a trial by judge – a judicial trial,” prosecutor Sheila Ross said in court. “When I was made aware of this, the parties waived his right to a jury trial, and the State has agreed to a judicial trial so long as the trial remains with Your Honor and no superior judges are involved. I believe we will start the process very soon, so I think that will happen.”

LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT WANTS TO SUPPRESS CERTAIN EVIDENCE WITH TRIAL DATE SET

Riley’s parents were in the courtroom Tuesday, sitting in the front row. Her mother, Allyson Phillips, cried briefly at the start of the hearing as Ibarra entered the courtroom.

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 allegedly killed the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of opportunity.”

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 the UGA campus in Athenswhere he “peeped through a window” and “spyed” on a university employee, the complaint alleges.

Ibarra recently tried the “peeping Tom” charge removed from his case, but prosecutors argued that the two incidents are “inextricably linked,” and Haggard ultimately decided not to drop the charges.

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

The judge also allowed DNA and cellphone evidence that Ibarra’s defense sought to suppress.

The 26-year-old suspect must appear in court again on November 15 for his trial. Jury selection for his trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, November 13, before he requested a bench trial.

Ibarra 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.

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Riley’s death was widely mentioned during the 2024 presidential election, as Republicans and Democrats debated the implications of record levels of illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border in 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.

Chelsea Torres and Lauren Sennet of Fox News contributed to this report.