When he viciously murdered a nursing student at the University of Georgia, a Venezuelan national who was in the country illegally would be imprisoned for the rest of his life.
On Wednesday, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra was informed of his fate in the killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley when she was jogging on campus.
Shortly after being found guilty of murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, kidnapping with bodily damage, tampering with evidence, peeping Tom, and delaying or hindering someone making an emergency phone call, the defendant was punished. Ibarra’s case garnered national attention since he was an unauthorized immigrant.
Allyson Phillips, Riley’s mother, criticized the defendant, according to CBS News.
“The pain, suffering, and loss we have endured and will continue to endure have no end,” she added. This cruel, twisted, and nasty coward didn’t care about human life or Laken. We are requesting that he receive the same treatment.
Ibarra spied a woman in an apartment in the University of Village Housing complex on February 22, the day the killing took place. He lived in an apartment next to Oconee Forest Park, where Riley was killed, and the authorities claimed that he didn’t know Riley and that the case was a crime of opportunity.
The case was discovered when Riley’s companion called UGA police at 12:07 p.m. on February 22 to report that Riley had gone for a run in the Intramural Fields earlier in the morning and had not returned as planned.
When first responders arrived at the recreation area, which has a number of sports fields, tennis courts, and running and bicycling trails, they promptly located Riley in the wooded area behind Lake Herrick at 12:38 p.m., according to the police.
According to an affidavit, the victim’s body was found in the woods on the ground. She didn’t seem to be breathing and seemed unconscious. Officers started CPR right away after noticing her obvious injuries. When emergency medical personnel got there, they concluded she was deceased.
Prosecutors said during Ibarra’s trial that he met Riley while looking for women on the University of Georgia campus.
During her opening statement, special prosecutor Sheila Ross said that he repeatedly struck Laken Riley’s skull with a rock after she declined to be his rape victim, according to the Washington Post.
Prosecutors said that Ibarra’s DNA was discovered beneath Riley’s fingernails, and detectives obtained the defendant’s thumbprint from her phone screen, despite his defense lawyer’s attempts to claim that the evidence against Ibarra was circumstantial. They said that surveillance footage showed him attempting to get rid of evidence.
According to a press release from the University of Georgia Police Department, Riley attended UGA until the spring 2023 semester before moving to Athens to enroll in the Augusta University College of Nursing program, where she was enrolled at the time of her death.
Following reports that Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, had entered the country illegally through El Paso, Texas, in 2022 before being arrested and released, her murder attracted global attention.
The case also prompted lawmakers to push forThe Laken Riley Actto put into place stricter immigration rules by mandating U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detain undocumented people accused of certain crimes.
In March, 37 Democrats joined all Republicans in supporting the bill, which passed 251–170.
While we can t bring Laken back, we must now turn our focus to doing everything we can to prevent this from happening to another American, The bill’s author, Republican Representative Mike Collins of Georgia, stated. The Laken Riley Act is a key piece in our fight to restore the rule of law and get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.
Colleagues, today we act on behalf of those who are no longer with us because of Joe Biden s policies, Collins continued. Let s continue to pray for her family and friends as they grieve her loss and resolve to continue to fight for the American people against the lawlessness created by this administration. Let s ensure justice for Laken Riley.
David Harris and Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.
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