Fox News' Chanley Painter on the details of the illegal immigrant from Venezuela to appear in court after being accused of murdering the Georgia nursing student.
Laken Riley murder suspect Jose Ibarra chooses trial by judge over jury
by Audrey Conklin · Fox NewsJose Ibarra, the Venezuelan national charged with murdering Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February, has chosen a trial by judge over jury.
Ibarra, 26, is accused of attacking and murdering Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, while she was jogging along highly frequented pedestrian trails on UGA's campus on the morning of Feb. 22.
He appeared in court Tuesday, when his defense team and state prosecutors asked Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard for a bench trial rather than a trial by jury, which Haggard granted. The bench trial will begin on Friday.
"This defendant wishes to seek a trial by judge only — a bench trial," state prosecutor Sheila Ross aid in court. "When I was notified of that, the parties have executed a waiver of his right to a trial by jury, and the state has agreed to a bench trial so long as the trial remains before Your Honor and no senior judges are brought in. I believe we will commence the trial very shortly, so I think that will happen."
LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT WANTS CERTAIN EVIDENCE SUPPRESSED WITH TRIAL DATE SET
Riley's parents were in court on Tuesday, sitting in the front row. Her mother, Allyson Phillips, cried briefly at the start of the hearing when Ibarra walked into the courtroom.
Ibarra and his brothers, also in the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived in an apartment building that sits on the edge of the on-campus park where Riley was running. Ibarra allegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a "crime of opportunity."
In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on counts of malice murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a person from making a 911 call, tampering with evidence and being a "peeping Tom."
The peeping Tom charge stems from another Feb. 22 incident during which the suspect allegedly went to a residence on UGA's campus in Athens, where he "peeped through" a window and "spied upon" a university staff member, the indictment alleges.
Ibarra recently tried to have the "peeping Tom" charge removed from his case, but prosecutors argued that the two incidents are "inextricably intertwined," and Haggard ultimately decided not to sever the charge.
The judge is also permitting DNA and cellphone evidence that Ibarra's defense wanted to suppress.
The 26-year-old suspect is due back in court on Nov. 15 for his trial. Jury selection for his trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 13, before he requested a bench trial.
Ibarra illegally crossed into the United States through El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released into the U.S. via parole, ICE and DHS sources previously told Fox News.
His older brother, Diego Ibarra, is charged with green card fraud and had ties to a known Venezuelan gang in the U.S. called Tren de Aragua, according to federal court documents.
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Riley's death was frequently mentioned throughout the 2024 presidential election as Republicans and Democrats debated the implications of record illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border over the last four years.
Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are females allegedly killed by illegal immigrants over the past two years.
Fox News' Chelsea Torres and Lauren Sennet contributed to this report.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.