Laken Riley case: Man forgoes trial in murder of Georgia nursing student

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A man waived his right to a jury trial Tuesday in the killing of a nursing student from Georgiaa case that became one Flashpoint in the national immigration debate.

Jose Ibarra was charged in the February killing of Laken Hope Riley, whose body was found on the University of Georgia campus. A Defendant with 10 counts Ibarra allegedly struck the 22-year-old Augusta University College of Nursing student in the head, suffocated her and intended to sexually assault her.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge that Ibarra's lawyers contacted her last week to say he wanted to waive his right to a jury trial, meaning it would only be heard by the judge. Then Ibarra's attorney, Kaitlyn Beck, presented the judge with a signed waiver.

After questioning Ibarra with the help of a translator, Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard said he concluded that Ibarra made the decision to forgo a jury trial voluntarily.

Prosecutors had decided not to seek the death penalty but said in a court filing that they wanted to seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin Wednesday, but after speaking with attorneys, the judge said the trial would begin Friday.

Shortly after his arrest, federal immigration officials said Ibarra, a Venezuelan citizen, entered the United States illegally in 2022 and was allowed to remain there to pursue his immigration case. Immigration was already a big issue in the presidential election campaign and among the Republicans has picked up on Riley's murderwith now President-elect Donald Trump blaming Democratic President Joe Biden's border policies for their deaths.

Speaking about border security during his State of the Union address just weeks after Riley's killing, Biden said mentioned Riley by name.

Riley's body was found near running trails on February 22 after a friend told police not returned from a morning run. Police said her killing appeared to be a random attack. Ibarra was arrested the next day and is being held without bail at the Athens-Clarke County Jail.

The indictment charges Ibarra with one count of first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated murder and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, obstructing an emergency call, tampering with evidence and spying on Tom.

The indictment alleges that on the day of Riley's murder, Ibarra looked through the window of an apartment in a university housing building, which forms the basis for the “espionage” charge.

defenders had tried unsuccessfully to move the trial from Athens, to treat the charges against the Peeping Tom separately and to exclude some evidence and expert reports.