November 20, 2024 - Judge sentences Laken Riley’s murderer to life in prison

Family members and friends of Laken Riley react as Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard announces the verdict during the trial of Jose Ibarra on November 20 in Athens, Georgia.

Inside court, when the first guilty decision was announced, multiple gasps and sobs were heard in the courtroom from the gallery.

The defendant Jose Ibarra had no strong reaction to the judge’s decision that he was guilty on all 10 counts in the murder of Laken Riley. Wearing a blue plaid shirt, he looked around the room and shifted his head a bit.

Riley’s mother sobbed loudly in courtroom. Multiple family members also cried in the gallery. Her father, Jason Riley, was also seen tearing up strongly. Family and friends were seen hugging each other to support one another.

Jose Ibarra listens through an interpreter during his trial on November 20 in Athens, Georgia.

The man accused of killing Laken Riley as she jogged through the woods at the University of Georgia has been convicted of murder, a judge ruled Wednesday.

After months of dueling political vitriol over the undocumented migrant’s case, Jose Antonio Ibarra was found guilty by Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.

The prosecution and defense had agreed to a bench trial for Ibarra, meaning the judge – not a jury – would decide the outcome.

Ibarra, 26, is an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela. He ended up in Athens, Georgia, to seek work, his former roommate testified.

Riley, 22, was a former UGA student who attended Augusta University’s College of Nursing in Athens. The avid runner was jogging in UGA’s Oconee Forest Park the morning of February 22 when Ibarra struck her in the head with a rock and asphyxiated her, authorities said.

Prosecutors have said they would seek a punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Court has resumed after a 15 minute break and Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard is getting ready to announce his decision in the case against Jose Ibarra.

The prosecution and defense have rested their cases in the trial of Jose Ibarra, who’s charged with murder in the death of Laken Riley and a series of other alleged crimes.

Court is now taking a brief recess.

The case is expected to soon go to Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard to determine whether Ibarra is guilty or not guilty. Before the trial started, the prosecution and defense had agreed to a bench trial for Ibarra — meaning the judge, not a jury, would decide the outcome.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross presents her closing arguments on Wednesday, November 20, in Athens, Ga.

In the state’s rebuttal, prosecutor Sheila Ross criticized the defense’s “magic pixie dust” argument and said the defense was desperate and mischaracterizing evidence.

The defense has sought to blame Jose Ibarra’s brother Diego for the crime, but Ross argued that could only be possible if Diego had magic pixie dust to plant his brother’s DNA under Laken Riley’s fingernails and “Harry Potter’s invisible cloak.”

“We are asking you, in your decision, to render a verdict that speaks the truth on what happened that day on the 22nd day of February, 2024, when this man took the life of an innocent woman, just going about her business, living her best life, for no reason. It’s senseless,” Ross told the judge. “And only you can end it.”

Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard presides over court on November 20.

Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard has remained attentive during both prosecutor Sheila Ross’ and defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck’s closing arguments.

After both sides are finished presenting, the case will go to Haggard to determine whether Jose Ibarra is guilty or not guilty of murder.

Before the trial started, the prosecution and defense had agreed to a bench trial for Ibarra – meaning the judge, not a jury, would decide Ibarra’s fate.

Defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck went through the state’s evidence of DNA, fingerprints, digital data and surveillance footage and said they do not prove Jose Ibarra’s guilt.

The DNA evidence had doubt in what was tested and what wasn’t tested, she argued, noting that investigators did not test Ibarra’s fingernails for Laken Riley’s DNA and did not test a bloody thumb print on her phone.

Fingerprint analysis is generally “questionable,” she argued.

The state’s evidence on the location of Ibarra’s phone had doubt because others had access to his phone, she argued.

Further, the surveillance video of the man throwing a bloody jacket into a dumpster had doubt because of the angle and quality of the video, she argued. Ibarra’s brother Diego also owned the same hat and shoes as the person on the video, she said.

Finally, Beck offered an alternate theory of the case that Diego Ibarra was actually responsible for the killing. She also raised the theory that Jose Ibarra threw the jacket into the dumpster under his brother’s direction but was not involved in the killing.

“Evidence that is subject to more than one interpretation is not proof beyond reasonable doubt,” she said in closing. “I would remind your honor that even if you think the alternative theories of the evidence are less likely, but they present any reasonable doubt, you would still be required to find Mr. Ibarra not guilty.

“We ask that your honor apply the exacting standards of the law to these facts and find Jose Ibarra not guilty.”

Prosecutor Sheila Ross presents her closing arguments on Wednesday.

State prosecutor Sheila Ross outlined each of the charges Jose Ibarra is facing during her closing argument Wednesday morning. Ross described Ibarra as “a monstrously guilty individual,” and asked Judge H. Patrick Haggard to find him guilty on all counts.

Here’s a look at how she described the evidence surrounding each of the charges:

Malice murder: Ross outlined Ibarra’s deliberate intention to kill, noting evidence from the medical examiner in the case.

“He put huge holes in her head, with a rock. And he did it more than once. And there could be no other reason to do that, other than to silence her forever,” the prosecutor alleged.

Ross told the court Ibarra also deprived Laken’s body of oxygen long enough to form wounds. “He intended to kill her,” Ross concluded.

Felony Murder (3 counts)

• Kidnapping with Bodily Injury

“He took her 64 feet and 11 inches off the trail for the purpose of victimizing her (…) and it is what permitted him to do the things to her that he wanted to do all along,” Ross said, explaining the first count of felony murder.

• Aggravated Assault with Intent to Rape

Ross outlined Laken Riley’s state of undress, noting her clothes being “in two different directions.”

“Her underwear has been torn. He did that to her,” the prosecutor alleged.

“The only thing that makes sense about why these two individuals — these two individuals who don’t know each other, never met each other, had this encounter on this trail at this moment while Laken is out for her morning jog – is because he wanted to sexually assault her,” Ross explained.

• Aggravated Battery

Ross pointed towards the “disfiguration” of Laken Riley’s skull.

Obstruction of 911 Call

The prosecutor noted that evidence showed Laken Riley’s emergency called had hung up on the 9-1-1 center.

Ross also pointed out that the Spanish words for “I have” could be heard on the call, and Jose Ibarra’s thumbprint was found on Laken Riley’s phone. “Who hung up the phone? He did,” Ross said. “It is no coincidence that his thumbprint is on her phone where you would go to hang up an iPhone.”

Felony Tampering with Evidence

Ross pointed toward video that appeared to show Ibarra discarding of items the morning of Riley’s killing. “We got it on video. He’s throwing away the bloody jacket. He’s throwing away the bloody gloves,” she said.

Peeping Tom

Ross explained that a University of Georgia graduate student saw Ibarra peering into her apartment. The prosecutor noted that in her call to police, when the student said she saw the man outside her door was ducking, campus security video showed that same action.

Ross said the student was “unnerved” about what happened to her. “She’s in the shower, and that’s when he [Ibarra] decides to try to open her door again. He had been outside her apartment for an hour,” Ross noted.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross ended her closing arguments after speaking for about 55 minutes.

Defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck is now delivering the defense’s closing arguments.

Jose Ibarra listens through an interpreter on Wednesday.

Investigators looking into Laken Riley’s killing caught the defendant Jose Ibarra in part due to luck that his brother unknowingly wore a specific hat, prosecutor Sheila Ross said.

“It was a combination of good police work and quite frankly just luck,” she said in closing arguments. “We were lucky that Diego decided to wear that hat.”

Investigators had found a bloody jacket in a dumpster near the crime scene, and surveillance video showed an unknown person wearing a black Adidas hat had stuffed the jacket in that dumpster. The next day, police spotted Diego Ibarra wearing that same hat and so began questioning him and his two brothers, ultimately noting the scratches and injuries on Jose Ibarra.

Ross said Jose Ibarra killed Riley while wearing that hat and then gave it to his brother to wear, and he happened to wear it the next day.

“The fact is if Diego had not been wearing that hat, we may have never caught these people. We may have never caught him,” she said.

Photos of Jose Ibarra's injuries are presented to the jury on Wednesday.

During her scathing closing argument Tuesday, prosector Sheila Ross told the judge there is “overwhelming” evidence against Jose Ibarra.

“Your honor, Laken Riley herself has given you all the evidence you need, alone, to find this man guilty of every single count in this indictment,” Ross told the judge, who will decide whether Ibarra should be convicted of murder and a host of other charges.

Ross also alluded to a forensic expert’s testimony that DNA evidence from Riley’s fingernails revealed a link to the genetic profile of Ibarra.

“She did fight. And it is a direct result of that fight that gives you all the physical evidence you need to convict him,” Ross told the judge, saying Riley scratched Ibarra in her final moments.

“The evidence in this case has spoken loud and clear that he is Laken Riley’s killer and that he killed her because she would not let him rape her.”

During the prosecution’s closing arguments, Laken Riley’s mother sobbed audibly as prosecutor Sheila Ross explained how Laken Riley injured Ibarra before she was killed.

Jose Ibarra looked between the presentation screen and Ross as she called him a killer.

Ross, meanwhile, looked at Ibarra many times as she spoke about him.

A general view of the court in Athens, Georgia, on Wednesday.

With testimony over, the prosecution began its closing summation to the court.

The defense will deliver its closings afterward.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross has rested the state’s rebuttal, with GBI special agent Lucas Beyer being dismissed from the witness stand.

Diego Ibarra, the brother of defendant Jose Ibarra, told investigators he was asleep during the killing of Laken Riley and there is no evidence contradicting him, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Lucas Beyer testified Wednesday.

“I found no evidence that contradicts his statement that he was home at that time,” Beyer said.

The special agent interviewed Diego Ibarra on February 23, the day after the killing, for about 90 minutes. Video and audio of the interview was played in court.

“He said he had nothing to do with it,” Beyer said. “His response was he was sleeping in bed.”

On cross-exam, Beyer acknowledged that one person had said that the suspect who was seen on video throwing a bloody jacket into a dumpster was Diego Ibarra, but the person was not confident in that. And on redirect, Beyer said the witnesses who knew the brothers well identified the suspect on video as Jose Ibarra.

The context: The defense has sought to raise questions about whether Jose Ibarra’s brothers may have been responsible for the killing.

After the defense rested, the prosecution called a rebuttal witness in Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Lucas Beyer.

Beyer previously testified on Tuesday for the prosecution about the clothing on Laken Riley’s body as she was found at the crime scene, as well as surveillance video from a UGA dining hall, which showed Jose Ibarra’s brother Diego on dates prior to and on the killing.

Despite days of painful evidence and testimony presented in court, Laken Riley’s family members returned Wednesday for a fourth day of Jose Ibarra’s trial.

Riley’s father, Jason Riley, is wearing a lavender button-down with a black tie. Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, is wearing a light beige top with black stripes. Her husband, John Phillips, is wearing a gray Nike polo shirt.

Defense attorneys for the defendant, Jose Ibarra, have rested their case after calling three witnesses on Tuesday afternoon.

The attorneys said they had plans to call two witnesses on Wednesday, but after talking to the state yesterday evening, they introduced stipulations instead.

Court is now in session for day four of the murder trial of Jose Ibarra, the man accused of killing former University of Georgia student Laken Riley on the UGA campus in Athens.

What to expect today: The defense is expected to call its final witnesses. The prosecution rested its case on Tuesday after calling 25 witnesses over three days.

The fourth day of Jose Antonio Ibarra’s murder trial will get underway soon, and the defense team is expected to call their final witnesses. Ibarra is accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus earlier this year.

Here’s a look at the legal teams who have been making their cases in court this week:

The prosecution: Sheila Ross, the special prosecutor in charge of this case, delivered the prosecution’s opening statements and has led questioning of most of the witnesses. Ross is the director of capital litigation with the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, which provides services to the state’s elected and appointed prosecutors.

Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez appointed Ross to take over the case days after Laken Riley’s killing. “We welcome (Ross) back as a knowledgeable and well-respected trial attorney with the expertise ready to bring justice on behalf of Laken Riley,” Gonzalez said at the time.

The defense: Three attorneys represent the defendant Jose Antonio Ibarra in court.

Dustin Kirby, a criminal defense attorney based in Athens, delivered the defense’s opening statements.

John W. Donnelly, a circuit public defender in Athens, and Kaitlyn Beck, an assistant public defender, round out the group.

Laken Riley is seen in a photo obtained by CNN.

The first three days of Jose Ibarra’s murder trial have included graphic evidence and emotional testimony, which have had a visible impact on Laken Riley’s family.

On Tuesday, a medical examiner testified that Riley died from the combined effects of blunt-force head trauma and asphyxia. Asphyxia relates to a lack of oxygen and can be caused by hanging, manual strangulation or physical compression. The medical examiner said she was not able to pinpoint the type of asphyxia Riley suffered.

Riley also had injuries to her face and a skull fracture — injuries that “could be consistent with a rock,” Dr. Michelle DiMarco, an associate medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said.

A forensic expert took the stand and bolstered the prosecution’s claim that Riley “fought for her life” before she died. Genetic testing of fingernail clippings from Riley revealed a link to the genetic profile of Ibarra, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab scientist said.

In a separate testimony, UGA police Sgt. Joshua Epps said he encountered Ibarra the day after Riley’s killing and noticed what “looked like fingernail scratches.”

“I also noticed on his left wrist, just below the palm, he had a puncture – maybe half an inch wide – that, through my experiences playing sports in high school, and receiving the same injury from fingernails in football, I could see, like, wet flesh, like almost like it was fresh,” Epps said. “It wasn’t very old.”

Perhaps the most emotional moment of the trial came when a UGA police sergeant detailed the final communications from Riley’s cell phone, which include missed calls between Riley and her mother the morning she died.

For Laken Riley’s mother, the anguish of losing a child in a gruesome attack is amplified by the horror of hearing details about the final minutes of her daughter’s life.

But a relentless pursuit of justice has brought Allyson Phillips to the front row of a Georgia courtroom’s cold, barren benches each day of suspect Jose Ibarra’s murder trial.

Laken Riley's mother, Allyson Phillips (center), reacts during the trial of Jose Ibarra while her husband, John Phillips, tries to comfort her.

Phillips, her husband John, and Riley’s father, Jason Riley, have sat through hours of agonizing testimony and evidence.

The suspect, an undocumented migrant from Venezuela, has shown little emotion throughout the trial. A few yards away, Riley’s mother has openly wept numerous times – including when an officer testified about missed calls between Riley and her mother the morning Riley died.

Surveillance video captures Riley’s final jog: Riley, a former cross-country runner, was last seen alive jogging near the University of Georgia’s Oconee Forest Park the morning of February 22.

She was a student at UGA until spring 2023, before switching to Augusta University’s College of Nursing in the same city of Athens.

UGA surveillance video shows Riley jogging with her phone in her left hand – a device that would play a key role in the trial. Phillips sobbed as she watched footage of her daughter the day she died.

Hours after Riley left for her run, the surveiilance footage shows two of her roommates and their dog searching for their missing friend near a trailhead. They leave about 20 minutes later, with Riley nowhere to be found.

Read more about some of the trial’s most intense moments here.

Jose Ibarra appears at his trial at the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Jose Ibarra’s defense team expected to continue calling witnesses today, and the fast-moving murder trial could go to the judge for deliberation as early as today.

On Tuesday, the defense called one of Ibarra’s brothers, Diego Ibarra, to the stand — but he was not asked any questions. Ibarra’s defense attorney John Donnelly told the court that Diego Ibarra’s attorney had told him in a phone call he “would most certainly advise Mr. Ibarra to not testify.” Prosecutor Sheila Ross said she was “uncomfortable” saying much because Diego Ibarra’s attorney was not present. She left the courtroom to try to speak to him on the phone.

The court then went into a break and was later adjourned for the day. It was not clear how or if the issue was resolved.

Jose Ibarra’s defense has raised questions about whether either of his two brothers, Diego and Argenis, may have been responsible for the killing.

Diego Ibarra is in federal custody and has pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a fraudulent document, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.

What happens next: After both sides are finished presenting, the case will go to the Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard to determine whether Jose Ibarra is guilty or not guilty of murder. Before the trial started, the prosecution and defense had agreed to a bench trial for Ibarra – meaning the judge, not a jury, would decide the verdict.

Prosecutors have said they would seek a punishment of life in prison without the possibility of parole if Jose Ibarra is convicted of murder.

Defendant Jose Antonio Ibarra confirmed in court Tuesday that he will not testify in his murder trial.

Working with a translator, Judge H. Patrick Haggard asked Ibarra a series of questions in court to confirm he understands his right not to testify. Ibarra answered “Si.”

“Mr. Ibarra, do you want to testify?” Judge H. Patrick Haggard asked.

“No,” he said, shaking his head.

Surveillance video that was presented on Tuesday.

Day 3 of the murder trial of Jose Ibarra in the killing of nursing student Laken Riley featured 10 prosecution witnesses and 3 defense witnesses as the trial moved at a quick pace.

Here are some of the key takeaways from Tuesday’s testimony:

Riley’s last run caught on camera: Surveillance video near a running trail and bus stop on the University of Georgia campus showed Riley out on a run at about 9 a.m. minutes before her death on the morning of February 22. The video also captured a man dressed in dark clothing lingering in a nearby area about an hour earlier.

Victim’s heartbreaking final text: Riley’s last text on her phone was a message to her mother hoping to talk. “Good morning, about to go for a run if you’re free to talk,” she wrote to her mother at 8:55 a.m. Her mother repeatedly called back over the next few hours but did not reach her daughter.

Riley’s cause of death: Her cause of death was the combined effects of blunt-force head trauma and asphyxia, a medical examiner testified. Riley had a skull fracture and a series of injuries to her face that “could be consistent with a rock,” the examiner said.

DNA matches defendant: Fingernail clippings of Riley’s right hand were linked to the genetic profile of Jose Ibarra, a forensic DNA expert testified. In addition, a blood-like stain on a navy blue jacket found in a dumpster contained the DNA of Riley and Ibarra, the expert testified.

Prosecution rests: The prosecution rested its case after calling about 25 witnesses over three days.

Defendant declines to testify: Speaking through a translator, Jose Ibarra confirmed he understood his rights and did not want to testify.