Laken Riley Murder: Jose Ibarra Sentenced To Life Without Parole For Killing Georgia Student
by Molly Bohannon · ForbesTopline
A judge found Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old undocumented immigrant, guilty of murdering Laken Riley, a nursing student who was found dead on the University of Georgia’s campus in February, sentencing him to life in prison—putting an end to the murder case that became a political touch point for both parties in the national immigration debate.
Key Facts
Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Ibarra guilty of malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing a person making an emergency call, tampering with evidence and peeping Tom.
Haggard sentenced Ibarra to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors said Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant, murdered Riley, 22, while she was out for a run after she “refused to be his rape victim,” ABC News reported.
Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial on Nov. 12, meaning Haggard would solely decide the verdict.
Crucial Quote
“This sick, twisted and evil coward showed no regard for Laken or human life, we are asking that same be done to him,” Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, said to the judge before sentencing was announced.
Key Background
Riley was found dead near a lake at the University of Georgia on Feb. 22 with “visible injuries” and blunt force trauma wounds after her friend reported that she never returned from a run. Riley’s death was ruled a homicide, and Ibarra was named a suspect the following day. Ibarra had illegally crossed the border near El Paso, Texas, and was arrested by Customs and Border Protection in September 2022, and he was released while his immigration case was pending. He had been arrested in 2023 in New York on a charge of acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation but was released before a detainer was issued, and his involvement in Riley’s death quickly became political fodder. Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump blamed Riley’s death on President Joe Biden, saying on Truth Social a “Border INVASION is destroying our country and killing our citizens.” At his State of the Union address in March, Biden said his heart went out to Riley’s family and said she was “an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal” (Biden later said he regretted using the term illegal and should have said “undocumented”).
Tangent
In response to Wednesday’s verdict, Trump said in a Truth Social post that he hopes Ibarra being found guilty on all counts “can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for Justice, and to ensure that other families don’t have to go through what they have … It is time to secure our Border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our Country, so nothing like this can happen again!”
Big Number
28. That’s how many witnesses prosecutors called during Ibarra’s trial, according to ABC News. Special prosecutor Sheila Ross told the court Riley “fought for her life” while struggling with Ibarra, causing him to leave forensic evidence at the scene.
Surprising Fact
Prosecutors announced they would not seek the death penalty for Ibarra, but would request a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to the Associated Press.