Laken Riley’s heartbroken mother confronted undocumented migrant Jose Ibarra in court after he was convicted of murdering the 22-year-old nursing student.
Allyson Phillips asked Judge H. Patrick Haggard to bring the full weight of the law down on the 26-year-old killer, who was found guilty of the brutal murder of Riley during an attempted rape in February on the University of Georgia campus .
“He ripped away every beautiful memory we will ever have with her,” an emotional Phillips told the court. “This horrible person has taken away all our hopes and dreams for Laeken.”
Phillips continued, “Your Honor, I ask that you please give Jose Ibarra the same thing he gave us when he made the choice to take Laken’s life and destroy ours. He showed no compassion for Laken when she begged for her life. There is no end to the pain and suffering he has caused.
“I ask you to please give this monster life in prison without any chance of parole, so he never has the chance to hurt anyone else again.”
Ibarra, 26, who had pleaded not guilty to the 22-year-old’s murder in February near the University of Georgia, stared coldly as the verdict was read as his victim’s family wept in the courtroom.
He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of all ten charges against him; Prosecutors declined to seek the death penalty in this case.
Ibarra was left stunned when Riley’s family and friends asked Judge Haggard to give Ibarra the maximum sentence.
Laken Riley’s killer Jose Ibarra was found guilty of her murder on Wednesday
Allyson Phillips, seen from the speaking stand, asked Judge H. Patrick Haggard to bring the full weight of the law down on the killer, 26
Riley is seen with her mother and stepfather
In a poignant moment, Riley’s stepfather John Phillips read one of the last entries from the student’s diary, in which she spoke to her future husband.
“To my future husband, know that I am thinking of you and doing everything I can to better myself and be the best woman I can be. With God’s help, I hope to have children together and have a relationship full of love,” Riley’s entry read.
For her part, Riley sister Lauren Phillips called Ibarra an “inhuman predator who is the epidemic of evil.” She said she now attends the University of Georgia and does not feel safe on campus.
She added: ‘Jose Antonio Ibarra has completely destroyed my life and I can only hope and pray that he receives the punishment that ruins his.’
Judge Haggard found Ibarra guilty after waiving his right to a jury trial. The trial started on Friday.
Riley’s family cried as the decision was read, while Ibarra showed no reaction.
Ibarra was convicted of all ten charges against him: malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily harm, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, tampering with evidence and being a peeping tom.
After reading the verdict, the judge said he was ready to proceed with sentencing immediately, but prosecutors asked for a break. The judge said he would continue after an hour’s recess.
The case fueled the immigration debate during this year’s presidential elections.
Riley’s parents Allyson and John Phillips (center and right) were filled with emotion as the trial started Friday
Family members and friends of Laken Riley react as Supreme Court Justice HA Patrick Haggard announces the verdict Wednesday
Riley’s body was found less than an hour after she was reported missing, near a lake on the University of Georgia campus. She studied there until 2023, after which she transferred to Augusta.
Her housemates reported her missing after becoming concerned that she had been away longer than usual.
Prosecutors called more than a dozen law enforcement officers to the trial, as well as Riley’s roommates and a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra.
Riley fought for her life for 18 minutes as Ibarra tried to rape her before her life was snuffed out. DNA evidence found on her body later linked him to the crime.
“She marked her killer for all the world to see. It’s his DNA. Just his DNA, under Laken’s right nails,” Georgia Special Prosecutor Sheila Ross said.
“He left his fingerprint on her iPhone, which was found next to her body at the crime scene.”
Defense attorney Dustin Kirby said in his opening statement that Riley’s death was a tragedy and called the evidence in the case compelling and disturbing. But he said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove his client killed Riley.
Defense attorneys called a police officer, a jogger and one of Ibarra’s neighbors on Tuesday and rested their case on Wednesday morning.
On Friday, prosecutors said Ibarra’s DNA was a direct match to the DNA under Riley’s fingernails, and was “10 billion times more likely than a chance match.”
The photo was taken at 9:05 a.m. on the day of her death from CCTV cameras near her home on the University of Georgia campus. She held her iPhone in her left hand, wearing all-black workout clothes and her noise-canceling AirPods
Scratches of varying lengths were identified by officers, imaged and submitted as evidence in the case against him
During the first day of the trial, officials also showed images of suspicious scratches on Ibarra’s body at the time of his arrest.
The judge said that as he listened to the closing arguments, he wrote down in a notebook two things the attorneys had said. He noted that prosecutor Sheila Ross called the evidence “overwhelming and powerful” and that defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck reminded him to “put my emotions aside” in making his ruling.
Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. through the U.S.-Mexico border in 2022 and was allowed to remain in the country while pursuing his immigration case.
He has been identified as a member of the ruthless Tren de Aragua gang.
On Monday, the court saw images of Ibarro’s brother and roommate Diego Ibarra, who has a tattoo of a five-pointed crown on his neck, a symbol of association with the TDA.
TDA became a national story after shocking footage showed apparent members taking over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. The gang started in prison in Venezuela and has spread across the Western Hemisphere as the oil-rich country experiences the world’s worst migrant crisis.
Also on Monday, Ibarra’s other roommate, Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello, told the court that she moved to Georgia because Diego Ibarra told the alleged killer that there were jobs in Athens.
Donald Trump met backstage at his Rome, Georgia rally on Saturday with Laken Riley’s family and friends, including the roommate who reported her missing
Flores-Bello said she met Ibarra in Queens, New York, and within a month she decided to move to Georgia with him.
Diego Ibarra and a third brother, Argenis Ibarra, pleaded guilty in July to having fake green cards.
When asked how they obtained the plane tickets, Flores-Bello said they were provided by New York officials.
“In Manhattan, at the Roosevelt Hotel, we requested a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, on October 9 or 10, 2023,” she testified.
Ibarra was arrested four months later for the student’s murder.