A Georgia judge on Wednesday found a Venezuelan gang member guilty of murder in the slaying of nursing student Laken Riley, whose killing set off a political firestorm over America’s flimsy border policies that let dangerous migrants into the country illegally.
Judge Patrick Haggard ruled Jose Ibarra, 26, guilty on all counts he was charged with, including murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily injury, obstructing a person making an emergency call, tampering with evidence and peeping Tom.
The prosecution and defense agreed to hold a bench trial, which means the judge would determine Ibarra’s fate rather than a jury.
The murderer will be sentenced during the afternoon portion of the trial. District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez said her office would seek life without parole rather than the death penalty.
“Our utmost duty is to ensure that justice is served and that the victim’s family is an integral part of the deliberation process,” Ms. Gonzalez told Augusta CBS affiliate WRDW-TV. “We understand that there will be those outside this office who will disagree with our decision and seek to exploit this case for political gain. However, the integrity of our judicial process and the pursuit of justice must always transcend political considerations.”
Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, openly sobbed as the verdict was read aloud, while her father, Jason Riley, fought back tears. Ibarra, meanwhile, stared blankly while the ruling was announced.
PHOTOS: Man convicted of murder in killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley
Prosecutor Sheila Ross’ closing argument revisited the Feb. 22 murder’s most gruesome details when Ibarra attacked Riley, 22, while she jogged on a wooded trail near the University of Georgia’s campus.
Ms. Ross said Ibarra “put huge holes in her head with a rock and he did it more than once” and that the killer left wounds in her neck from strangling her so intensely.
The prosecutor further said Ibarra dragged Riley over 60 feet off the trail and tore her underwear in an attempt to sexually assault her.
Ms. Ross also acknowledged that linking Ibarra to the killing was in part due to good fortune.
She said Riley’s killer was wearing an Adidas hat when surveillance video caught him throwing away a bloody jacket and gloves in a dumpster.
It was only after Ibarra’s brother, Diego, was seen wearing the same Adidas hat the next day that police developed a lead on a possible suspect.
Ibarra’s behavior when questioned by police was that of a “monstrously guilty individual,” according to Ms. Ross, who said the murderer struggled to explain scratches Riley left on his arm while fighting with him.
Defense attorneys for Ibarra said the evidence to link Ibarra to the killing was not strong enough. For example, they said his fingernails weren’t tested for Riley’s DNA.
Judge Haggard ultimately sided with the prosecution’s case.
Riley’s murder helped catapult illegal immigration — and the presence of violent, unvetted migrants in the country — into one of the leading issues in the presidential election.
That includes the strangling of a 12-year-old Houston girl in June allegedly at the hands of two Venezuelans and last year’s rape and killing of a Maryland mother of five in Harford County.
The suspect in the Maryland case is an alleged member of the international gang MS-13 who entered the country illegally in 2023.
Ibarra, a member of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, entered the country illegally in 2022.
He had prior arrests for injuring a child in New York City and was cited for shoplifting in Athens, Georgia, both in 2023.
The NYPD released Ibarra before Immigration and Customs Enforcement could issue an immigration detainer during his arrest last year.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.