On Wednesday, nine months after Laken Riley was found beaten to death on the University of Georgia Athens campus after going for a run, her murderer was sentenced to the maximum possible sentence–life in prison without the possibility of parole. Twenty-six-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra was found guilty of malice murder and nine other counts, according to CNN.
Jose Ibarra, the man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. pic.twitter.com/ZQSfrHJXb5
— Everything Georgia (@GAFollowers) November 20, 2024
On February 22, after roommates reported her missing when she didn’t return from her morning run, university police located Riley in a wooded area near the school’s intramural fields, where she was pronounced dead; the cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma and asphyxia.
Riley, 22, was a cross-country runner while attending River Ridge High School in Woodstock, Ga., and competed in Georgia’s AthHalf Half Marathon in October 2023.
Woman found dead after going for a run on the University of Georgia campus
During the four-day trial, the prosecution stated that Riley suffered eight wounds to her head alongside a depressed skull fracture, allegedly caused by 26-year-old Ibarra hitting her in the head with a rock. Ibarra’s DNA was discovered under Riley’s fingernails and on a jacket that Ibarra had attempted to discard after the attack. Riley’s DNA was also found on the same jacket.
Data from Riley’s smartwatch showed that her run came to a halt around 9:10 a.m., around the time when she used the SOS function on her smartphone to call 911; a few minutes later, the location of the watch moved off the trail and into the woods. Her heart stopped at 9:28 a.m. Her body was found with multiple layers of clothing removed, indicating an intent to sexually assault.
Ibarra was convicted of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with attempt to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing a person making an emergency call and tampering with evidence. He was also found guilty of a peeping Tom charge from a separate incident where he peered into another student’s apartment and tried repeatedly to open her door.
