Laken Riley murder suspect waives right to jury trial
The man accused of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley waived his right to a jury trial in the case that has garnered national attention amid outrage over the Biden administration's immigration policies.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, is standing trial following his arrest earlier this year in connection with the 22-year-old's murder. Riley was killed in February while jogging on the University of Georgia campus, with authorities later determining that the young woman died due to blunt force trauma to the head and asphyxiation.
A 10-count indictment accused the illegal migrant from Venezuela of also intending to sexually assault the Augusta University College of Nursing student. On the day of Riley’s murder, the migrant allegedly peered into the window of an apartment at a university housing building, the Los Angeles Times reported.
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According to the indictment, Ibarra has been charged with one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hindering an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence and peeping Tom.
Prosecutors won't be seeking the death penalty, according to the LA Times. Instead, they will be seeking a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
During a recent court appearance, Athens-Clarke County Superior Judge H. Patrick Haggard questioned the suspect with the aid of a translator about his decision to waive his right to a jury trial.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross informed Haggard that Ibarra’s attorneys had informed her last week that they only wanted the case to be heard by a judge, with the suspect’s lawyer, Kaitlyn Beck, presenting the judge with a signed waiver. Haggard determined that Ibarra consented to the decision and said the bench trial would begin on Friday.
Ibarra entered the United States illegally through El Paso, Texas, on Sept. 8, 2022, and was later released for further processing.
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), New York police arrested Ibarra on Aug. 31, 2023, and was charged with causing injury to a child and a driving violation. However, the illegal migrant was released before ICE could request that police detain him for immigration authorities.
An August interim report from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement blamed the policies under the Biden-Harris administration for Riley’s death. The report cited Ibarra as an example of the millions of illegal aliens released by the administration who are “committing crimes across the country.”
“The Committee’s review of Jose Ibarra’s A-file reveals that the Biden-Harris Administration’s border policies ensured Jose Ibarra’s release into the United States nearly two years ago,” the report stated. “Despite having lived safely in Ecuador from January 2017 through July 2022, in 2022, Ibarra traveled to the United States, potentially drawn by President Biden’s and Vice President Harris’s open-borders, no-consequence immigration policies.”
One day after the Border Patrol apprehended Ibarra in September 2022, the administration released him into the U.S. because it determined that his release was warranted due to “urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also cited a lack of detention space as the reason for his release, but the committee highlighted the agency’s data, arguing that it could have detained Ibarra.
"As a result of his release, Ibarra was free to commit crimes in the United States, including allegedly kidnapping and murdering Laken Riley in Georgia," the committee and its subcommittee noted in the document.
Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, referred to her daughter’s murder as an “avoidable tragedy” in a Facebook post earlier this year. She expressed gratitude for the support she and her family received after Riley's murder.
“As I sat down to write this message, I really just have no words. My family has faced the most devastating, unimaginable loss that anyone could ever be forced to endure,” Phillips wrote. "I would like to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for being with me and my family during this heartbreaking time. I encourage everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I give Him all the glory for getting us through this."
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
