UGA campus murder: Athens mayor defends city as protesters call for resignation after Laken Riley's death

ATHENS, Ga. - The mayor of Athens-Clarke County says the county is taking steps to address safety concerns after the tragic murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley on the University of Georgia's campus.

At a press conference at Athens-Clarke County Police Department Headquarters on Wednesday morning, Mayor Kelly Girtz said he will ask the County Commission at a meeting on Tuesday to approve multiple initiatives aimed at making the metro area safer.

Part of Girtz's proposal induces funding to advance the area's development of a real-time crime center - tying public and private cameras into a unified system and staffing the center 24/7, - purchasing ATVs to help officers get to areas that are hard to quickly traverse on foot quickly, and expand the area's camera array to places where data indicates more police observation is needed,

"Our anger at these murders and other criminal activities will drive us to continue to improve our community's safety," Girtz said.

Calling Riley's death a "traumatizing experience," Girtz said that he and the Athens-Clarke County Sheriff's Office are working hard to ensure crimes like her murder don't happen in the future.

In the days since Riley's brutal murder and the arrest of Jose Antonio Ibarra, a native of Venezuela who entered the country illegally in 2022 and was living in Athens, the city has been thrust into the national debate over immigration, with state officials saying that the county's alleged "sanctuary city" status was to blame.

A sanctuary city is commonly defined as a jurisdiction where local laws can serve to protect immigrants from deportation or prosecution.

Girtz argued with a small group of protesters who interrupted the press conference, calling for him to resign.

"The blood is on your hands," one protester shouted before calling for a mass deportation of immigrants from the country.

Girtz stated that Athens is not a sanctuary city, adding that the state banned them and makes them prove every year they’re not breaking the law.

The mayor pointed to data showing that, while the population of Athens-Clarke County has increased, the murder rate has been on a continual downward trajectory.  Girtz said the area's crime rate was "notably favorably" compared to other major metro areas in Georgia as well as other college communities.

"I caution against conflating immigration and crime. The data demonstrates that the two are not connected," he said.

The mayor also called for the federal government to reach an agreement on how to take a step forward in addressing immigration.

What we know about Laken Riley's murder

Augusta University nursing student Laken Hope Riley had been reported missing by a friend when she never returned from a morning run on Feb. 22.

The 22-year-old's body was found by police in a wooded area near Lake Herrick and UGA's intramural fields.

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. Investigators say she and Ibarra did not know each other, and University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark called the killing a crime of opportunity.

Who is Jose Ibarra?

The man accused of killing Riley, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was arrested for illegal entry in September 2022 near El Paso, Texas, amid an unprecedented surge in migration and released to pursue his case in immigration court. At the time, the Border Patrol was releasing migrants with orders to appear at an immigration office, not even scheduling court appearances. That practice, which added years to how long it takes to resolve an immigration case, largely ceased in February 2023.

It is unclear if Ibarra, 26, followed those instructions or applied for asylum. Federal officials say he was arrested by New York police in August for child endangerment and released, though New York officials said Sunday they had no record of the arrest. 

Iberra was living in Athens when Riley was killed last week. His attorney has not responded to requests for comment.

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.

Is Athens a sanctuary city?

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

In 2019, the city council passed a resolution welcoming immigrants "of all statuses."

But a few weeks ago, following a town hall, the city clarified in a memo that the resolution "merely expresses a desire to be welcoming to people from all backgrounds" and doesn’t hinder law enforcement.

The memo said a commonly-cited website that identifies sanctuary cities labeled Athens-Clarke County as one because of a 2018 policy from the sheriff’s office dictating that it will no longer enforce a 48-hour detainer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement inmates who are not accused of any other crimes.

However, the policy appeared to be changed back later that day.

A records custodian for the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office sent FOX 5 the current policy, which states, "Staff shall make prompt notification as provided for in this directive to the Appropriate United States agency and/or foreign consulate whenever a foreign national is taken into custody."

The current policy stipulates that if a "detainer is issued but is not accompanied by a federal warrant or court order signed by a federal magistrate or federal judge, shall not be held solely on the ICE detainer," and with a warrant they will still be released after 48 hours if federal agents don’t pick them up.

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.

The Associated Press and FOX 5's Rob Dirienzo contributed to this report.