Killing of nursing student out for a run underscores fears of solo female athletes
Carol Capps regularly runs in the wooded area of the University of Georgia campus, where the body of a 22-year-old nursing student was found earlier this week after she was reported missing during a morning run.
Capps, 24, said the trails around Lake Herrick always seemed safe, a place where she could get away from traffic and head into the woods for some mental clarity.
But that sense of peace was shattered after authorities found the body of Laken Hope Riley on Thursday and arrested 26-year-old Athens resident Jose Antonio Ibarra on suspicion of murder. The victim and suspect did not know each other, and University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark called the killing a crime of opportunity.
“The scariest thing about it is that it could have been me or one of my friends,” said Capps, a store employee at Athens Running Company. “It feels like a place has been taken from me.”
Riley’s death has once again focused attention on the dangers female runners face. Previously, the 2018 death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts while jogging led to an outpouring of other women sharing their stories of being harassed and followed.
Crime statistics show these types of attacks are rare, but they underscore the hyper-vigilance women must display when they go out, even if they go for a run on campus.
According to a survey by Adidas last year, 92% of women reported being concerned about their safety and half afraid of being physically attacked. More than a third of women said they faced physical or verbal harassment, including sexist comments, and were followed.
Running groups and women’s forums have offered tips on how women can try to stay safer while exercising: Run during the day or with a friend; avoid headphones; carry pepper spray or a whistle; make sure your phone is charged; mixing up walking routes; inform a friend of your whereabouts and contact him when you are ready.
But Callie Rennison, a criminal justice professor at the University of Colorado who studies violence against women, wishes more emphasis was placed on teaching men not to assault women rather than telling women what to do or not to do.
“I hope women continue to run, walk, study, climb, work and live their lives the way they deserve,” Rennison said in an email. “Although some days I lose hope for us, what is the alternative? Trying to exist in silence doesn’t protect us either.”
Capps, who has been running since she was 13, says she pays close attention to her surroundings. But she also doesn’t think Riley could have done anything to ward off what appears to be a random act of violence.
“What happened to her, I think, is unavoidable,” she said.
Of course, Riley’s death hasn’t just shocked female runners. Nate Stein, 23, a recent graduate of the University of Georgia who lives in central Athens, said he ran and walked around the area where her body was found.
Now he plans to be more careful.
“It feels like a park; nothing bad should ever happen there,” he said.
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AP reporters Jeff Martin and Ben Finley contributed to this report.