A nursing student from a nearby school has been identified as the woman whose body was found in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus Thursday—just one day after another person was found dead in a dormitory in an unrelated incident.
The Georgia Arch at the University of Georgia.
Laken Hope Riley, 22, was identified by her school Friday morning as the woman whose body was found near a lake on the school's campus in Athens, Georgia.
Authorities found Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, on Thursday afternoon after a friend reported her as never having returned from a run.
She was found with "visible injuries" and was pronounced dead at the scene, UGA Police Chief Jeff Clark told reporters, adding there are currently no suspects in her death.
Foul play is suspected, the University of Georgia confirmed, but the cause and manner of her death won’t be known until an examination of her body scheduled for later today, Coroner Sonny Wilson told CNN.
There is no connection between Riley’s death and the Wednesday discovery of a body in the school’s Brumby Hall dormitory, Clark said, the details of which have not been released.
The university has recommended students "travel in groups when possible and be aware of your surroundings" as the campus mourns the "tragic loss of life.”
Augusta University called the death of Riley, a junior and Dean’s List student, "truly heartbreaking" in a statement Friday. Riley transferred to the Augusta University nursing college in the spring of 2023 after attending the University of Georgia, according to the Red & Black, the UGA student newspaper, and was still active in the UGA Alpha Chi Omega sorority. University spokesperson Greg Trevor told the paper Riley was "well known and from all accounts very well liked.”
“When you have a suspect that is on the loose, there is always a danger, but there is no immediate danger at this time,” Clark said.
41 years. That's how long it has been since there was a homicide on the grounds of the University of Georgia, according to USA Today. In 1983, a woman was stabbed to death while walking to her car. Her assailant was later sentenced to life in prison.