Attorneys for man charged with killing Georgia nursing student ask judge to move trial
ATHENS, Ga. — Lawyers for a man accused of murdering nursing student whose body was found on the campus of the University of Georgia have asked a judge to move the case to another county.
Finding an impartial jury in Athens-Clarke County to hear the murder and other charges against Jose Ibarra in the killing of Laken Hope Riley is impossible, defense attorneys John Donnelly and Kaitlyn Beck said in a court document. A handcuffed Ibarra appeared in court Friday wearing a button-down shirt and slacks.
Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard said during the brief hearing that he planned to begin jury selection on Nov. 13 and begin the trial the following week.
He gave prosecutors 10 days to respond to the request for a change of venue, which was filed Thursday.
In the filing, Donnelly and Beck noted that Riley was killed on the campus of the University of Georgia, a “prominent institution” in Athens, and said the case had received significant local media attention.
A 2013 Georgia court ruling held that a change of venue is appropriate in cases where media reporting is “‘unnecessarily extensive, factually inaccurate, inflammatory or reflects an atmosphere of hostility,'” the filing said.
A grand jury in early May a complaint has been filed Ibarra, 26, is charged with murder, aggravated assault, kidnapping and other crimes in the February killing of Riley. The 10-count indictment accuses him of striking the 22-year-old Augusta University College of Nursing student in the head, choking her and pulling up her clothing with the intent to rape her.
He pleaded not guilty in May.
The murder was immediately reported focal point in the national debate on immigration because Ibarra, who is from Venezuela, entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to remain to pursue his immigration case. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, blamed President Joe Biden and his border policies for Riley’s death.
Riley’s body was found near jogging trails on February 22 after a friend told police she hadn’t returned from a morning run, and police have said her killing appeared to be a random attack. Ibarra was arrested the next day and has been held without bail in the Athens-Clarke County Jail since then.
The indictment charges Ibarra with first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, obstructing an 911 call, tampering with evidence and peeping.
The indictment alleges that Ibarra was looking through the window of a frat house apartment on the day of Riley’s murder, which is the basis for the peeping tom charge.
In a separate filing Thursday, Ibarra’s attorneys said the charge should be handled separately from the other charges because the alleged victim is different.