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Laken Riley murder trial: Suspect Jose Ibarra sees evidence in UGA campus killing

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Published  November 17, 2024 7:23pm EST
Laken Riley
FOX 5 Atlanta

Laken Riley trial prosecutor preview evidence

The bench trial for Jose Ibarra, the man accused of murdering UGA student Laken Riley on the campus of UGA, resumes Nov. 17, 2024. On Friday, the prosecutor laid out the evidence she plans to present throughout the trial.

The Brief

    • The bench trial for Jose Ibarra, the man accused of murdering UGA student Laken Riley, resumes Nov. 17, 2024.
    • The prosecutor presented surveillance videos that not only suggested that Ibarra disposed of items with Riley's DNA, but he was allegedly seen peeping at another student shortly before Riley's death.
    • The defense countered the allegations, pointing out that the evidence connecting Ibarra to the murder was circumstantial, even though it was apparent that Riley was murdered.
    • Ibarra pleaded not guilty, while the prosecution is pushing for a life sentence without parole.

ATHENS, Ga. - The bench trial for the man accused of killing a nursing student on UGA's campus resumes Monday. Jose Ibarra faces multiple charges including malice murder in connection to the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley.

The judge will be the one to rule on the case after Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial.

It was an emotional day in court Friday as the state played body camera footage of the moment an officer discovered Laken Riley's body in a wooded area on UGA's campus.

"Her encounter with him was long. Her fight with him was fierce," Special Prosecutor Sheila Ross said during her opening statements Friday.

Riley's roommates called the police on the morning of Feb. 22, when she didn't return home from her morning run.

"She would run for a long time, but I knew she had class that day and I knew that she wasn't one to be late or off schedule," Connolly Huth, one of Riley's roommates, said.

In her opening statement, Ross laid out the evidence she plans to present, including home surveillance video in Ibarra's apartment complex that she said showed him throwing a jacket in a dumpster and black gloves in the bushes, both with Riley's DNA.

She said Snapchat images Ibarra took that morning show him wearing the same clothes as the man in the video.

She also said the watch Riley was wearing showed her heart stopped 18 minutes after she encountered Ibarra.

"She fought for her life. She fought for her dignity," Ross said.

She previewed surveillance video that she claimed showed Ibarra peeping at another female student just hours before Riley's death.

The defense argued that all this evidence does not clearly prove Ibarra was behind Riley's death.

"The evidence in this case is very good that Laken Riley was murdered. The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial," Defense Attorney Dustin Kirby said.

Ibarra pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

The Source: This is an original report by FOX 5 Atlanta's Kim Leoffler. It contains references to previous reports by FOX 5 Atlanta.