A man charged in the killing of a Georgia nursing student faces hearing as trial looms
ATHENS, Ga. — The man accused of killing a nursing student whose body was found on the University of Georgia campus is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a hearing ahead of his scheduled trial next month.
Jose Ibarra is accused of murder and other crimes in the murder of Laken Hope Riley in February. A 10-count indictment charges Ibarra struck the 22-year-old Augusta University College of Nursing student in the head, choked her and pulled up her clothing with the intent to sexually assault her. Ibarra pleaded not guilty to the accusations.
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard said during a hearing in August that he plans to begin jury selection on Nov. 13 and continue the trial the following week.
Riley’s murder became one flashpoint in the national debate on immigration because Ibarra, who is from Venezuela, entered the US illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay to continue his immigration case. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, blamed Riley’s death on President Joe Biden and his border policies.
Riley’s body was found near running trails on February 22 after a friend told police she had not returned from a morning run. Police have said her killing appeared to be a random attack. Ibarra was arrested the next day and remains held in the Athens-Clarke County Jail without bond.
The indictment charges Ibarra with one count of malice murder, three counts of murder and one count of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence and peeping on Tom.
The indictment alleges that on the day of Riley’s murder, Ibarra peered through the window of a university apartment building, which forms the basis for the peeping tom charge.
The judge will hear arguments on four motions on Friday. These include a motion by Ibarra’s lawyers to move the trial from Athens due to pre-trial publicity, and an effort to have the peeping tom charge tried separately because it involves a different alleged victim. His lawyers are also trying to exclude any evidence and expert testimony.
The country’s broken immigration system has become a key campaign issue after an unprecedented wave of migration strained budgets in cities such as New York, Chicago and Denver. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has stepped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric by suggesting that migrants are more likely to commit crimes than US citizens, even though evidence does not support these claims.
Democratic presidential candidate and vice president at the end of September Kamala Harris walked a stretch of the US-Mexico border and called further tightening of asylum restrictions as she sought to take a tougher stance on illegal migration and address one of her biggest vulnerabilities in the world the November elections. She balanced tough talk about border control with calls for a better way to welcome immigrants legally.