The suspect accused of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley has been formally charged with murder and other counts in connection with the savage incident on the University of Georgia campus.
On February 22, a grand jury indicted Jose Ibarra, 26, on charges of malice murder and felony murder in Riley’s death, which was discovered in a wooded area on the Athens campus after she did not return after a run.
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On Tuesday, the Athens Clarke County grand jury handed out the indictment, alleging that Ibarra killed the Augusta University student by “inflicting blunt force trauma to her head and asphyxiating her” and gravely deforming her skull by striking her “multiple times” with a rock.
The 10-count indictment also includes charges for aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily damage, aggravated assault with intent to rape, blocking or hindering someone from making an emergency phone call, and tampering with evidence. The latter indictment claimed that he “knowingly concealed” evidence—a jacket and gloves—related to the offense of malice murder.
They also charged him with a peeping Tom violation. The indictment asserts that on the day of Riley’s murder, he peered through the window of another individual residing in a campus apartment.
The Western Circuit District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case, stated that the court will set the date for Ibarra’s arraignment. “At this time, we will make no further statements on this case.”
Ibarra faced charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false detention, kidnapping, obstructing a 911 call, and concealing the death of another after his arrest on February 23. The Clarke County Jail denied him bond and is currently holding him.
According to Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB, his attorneys submitted court filings in March requesting a jury trial.
Police say they don’t believe Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant, knew Riley, and that this was a “crime of opportunity.” Her death has become a rallying cry for immigration reform among many Republicans.
Immigration officials claim Ibarra illegally entered the United States in 2022. The following year, New York City police detained him and charged him with endangering a child under the age of 17 and violating a motor vehicle license, but they released him before they could file a detainer. According to the NYPD, no arrests under the stated name were on file.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation last week requiring state jailers to examine inmates’ immigration status. Kemp said the immigration law “became one of our top priorities following the senseless death of Laken Riley at the hands of someone in this country illegally who had already been arrested even after crossing the border,” according to the Associated Press.
