UGA campus murder: Arrest warrants for Jose Ibarra released

CLARKE COUNTY, Ga. - The arrest warrants for the 26-year-old man accused of killing 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student Laken Hope Riley on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens have been released.

Riley was brutally murdered during her morning run on Feb. 22. Her body was found by police shortly after she was reported missing by a friend in a wooded area near Lake Herrick and UGA's intramural fields.

On Friday, a man named Jose Antonio Ibarra from Venezuela, who entered the country illegally in 2022 and was living in Athens, was arrested for her murder. He was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another. Police confirmed on Friday evening that Riley died from blunt force trauma.

The Athens-Clarke County Coroner officially attributed Riley's death to blunt force trauma to the head on Monday.

The arrest warrants, released to FOX 5 on Tuesday, for Ibarra do not contain many new details.

JOSE ANTONIO IBARRO

WARNING: Details below may be disturbing to some readers. 

According to the warrants, Riley was killed between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Feb. 22. The warrants say Ibarra "physically" prevented Riley from making or completing a 911 call and used an "object" to cause great bodily harm, "disfiguring her skull." The warrants also indicate he dragged her from the intramural fields to a secluded area and concealed her death.

It remains unknown why Riley was killed. Bond was denied Ibarra during his first court appearance on Feb. 24.

During the search for Riley's killer, Jose Ibarra's brother, 29-year-old Diego Ibarra, was also arrested. It was discovered that Diego Ibarra was in possession of a fraudulent green card.

Jose Ibarra's prior encounters with police in Athens

FOX 5 has learned this isn't Ibarra's first encounter with law enforcement in Athens. 

On Wednesday, we obtained a field report from Athens-Clarke County police from October 2022, when both Ibarra and his brother Deigo were charged with shoplifting from a Walmart. 

Immigration attorney Eduardo Soto said police generally check any arrestees' immigration status, but since the shoplifting charge was a misdemeanor, both brothers were cited and released on the scene. 

Immigration status confirmed

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed on Sunday that Jose Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 near El Paso, Texas, and was previously arrested in New York City in 2023. Ibarra's wife told the New York Post that she has known Jose her entire life and claimed he was a calm person who was not aggressive.

Athens criticized for being sanctuary city

The City of Athens has faced heavy criticism since the arrests for its perceived status as a "sanctuary city."

However, sanctuary cities were outlawed in Georgia in 2009, and officials denied on Monday that the city is one.

Hundreds of students gathered on Monday at UGA to remember Riley and another student, Wyatt Banks, who recently took his own life.

A funeral for Riley is scheduled for March 1.