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Laken Riley's Murderer Learns His Fate

Mia Cathell
Mia Cathell  |  November 20, 2024 11:30 AM

UPDATE: Ibarra will not face the death penalty.

Haggard sentenced Ibarra to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Western Judicial District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez only sought a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Georgia is a death penalty state. However, Gonzalez said she did not think that pursuing the death penalty was in the interest of "justice."

"Our utmost duty is to ensure that justice is served and that the victim's family is an integral part of the deliberation process. We understand that there will be those outside this office who will disagree with our decision and seek to exploit this case for political gain. However, the integrity of our judicial process and the pursuit of justice must always transcend political considerations," Gonzalez said, according to local WRDW-TV.

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During victim impact statements, Riley's mother, Allyson Phillips, implored Haggard to show "no mercy" in sentencing Ibarra. Addressing the judge, she said, "Your honor, I'm asking you to give Jose Ibarra the same thing he gave us when he [...] showed no mercy when she was begging for her life."

"Jose Ibarra took no pity on my scared, panicked, and struggling child," the grieving mother said. "This sick, twisted, and evil coward showed no regard for Laken and human life. We're asking the same be done to him." 

Riley's father, Jason Riley, said, "The pain I feel is unimaginable," and that he's "haunted" by the fear she must have felt in her final moments. "The pain of not being there, not being able to protect her, is something I'll never escape." Riley's sister, Lauren Phillips, cried as she pleaded for the stiffest sentence possible. "Jose Antonio Ibarra has completely ruined my life," she said, hoping he receives a punishment that will "ruin his."

***Original story***

Illegal alien Jose Ibarra has been convicted of murdering 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

Judge Patrick Haggard, who presided over the four-day bench trial, in which the judge, not a jury, decides the verdict, found Ibarra guilty on all charges: one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, one count of kidnapping, one count of aggravated assault, one count of aggravated battery, one count of hindering an emergency telephone call, one count of tampering with evidence, and one "Peeping Tom" count (10 counts in total).

Ibarra, who heard his fate read aloud via an English-to-Spanish translation, required an interpreter every day in the Athens-Clarke County courthouse. He listened through headphones provided by the court.

In September 2022, Ibarra illegally crossed over the United States-Mexico border through El Paso, Texas. He was subsequently released into the country on parole "due to detention capacity" at the border town's Central Processing Center.

On the second day of testimony, Ibarra's former roommate revealed that the 26-year-old Venezuelan national had taken a taxpayer-funded trip to Georgia, where he ultimately murdered Riley in the college town of Athens.

Rosbeli Flores-Bello, the state's 11th witness, testified that after Iberra illegally entered the United States, he stayed at New York City's once-luxury Roosevelt Hotel, which was transformed into a migrant-processing hub, on the taxpayer's dime before flying on a "humanitarian flight" from Manhattan to Atlanta in September 2023.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution laid out exactly how Ibarra stalked and brutally killed Riley while she was out on a morning run, jogging along trails on the University of Georgia (UGA)'s campus.

On February 22, Ibarra donned disposable gloves before he went "hunting for females," prosecutor Sheila Ross said in opening statements Friday. Ibarra, who lived alongside his brothers and others in an apartment building less than a half mile from the on-campus park where Riley was running, then encountered her and attacked.

Between her iPhone and Garmin watch, a Christmas present she used for running, investigators were able to determine that Riley placed a 911 call at 9:11 a.m., mere minutes after she left for her run at 9:03 a.m.

When she refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her head in with a rock repeatedly, disfiguring her skull. "He put huge holes in her head with a rock. He did it more than once [for] no other reason than to silence her forever," Ross said.

For more than 17 minutes, until her heart stopped at 9:28 a.m., according to the watch's heart rate monitor, Riley fought for her life, leaving behind evidence of the struggle and thereby "mark[ing] her killer for the world to see."

As prosecutors described the crime scene, the slain student's mother sobbed having to hear all the disturbing details. After smashing her skull in, Ibarra dragged Riley's body to a secluded area to hide her death. Authorities later discovered her underwear had been torn and Ibarra's fingerprint on Riley's phone, a sign that he had hung up on the 911 dispatch center. Prosecutors said the Spanish words for "I have" can be heard on the call. Security footage captured Ibarra discarding a bloody jacket and gloves in a dumpster nearby.

Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial. Haggard handed down the decision Wednesday just 19 minutes after both parties presented closing arguments.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whose three daughters attended UGA, issued a statement reacting to Ibarra's guilty verdict. "This criminal should never have been to enter our country, and he certainly should not have been allowed to stay after shamelessly breaking our laws," the Republican governor said. "Open borders failed Laken Riley."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) blasted open-border Democrats responsible for the national security crisis, declaring "blood is on their hands."

"Tragically, she is not the first American life lost at the hands of illegal aliens," Greene said of Riley, adding she'd be alive today if our borders were secure.


According to court documents, Ibarra's brother, Diego Ibarra, whom he lived with, has ties to a violent Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, known for taking over apartment complexes and terrorizing residents in Aurora, Colorado. Diego Ibarra, who worked briefly in a UGA cafeteria prior to his arrest, is facing federal green card fraud charges. When police questioned him, he presented a false ID that showed two different birthdates. Currently incarcerated for forging the green cards, Diego Ibarra was called to testify Tuesday against his brother. On the witness stand, he wiped away tears with his orange prison jumpsuit.

In August 2023, the New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested Jose Ibarra, also a suspected gang member of the Tren de Aragua crime syndicate. At the time, he was charged with "acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17" and a motor vehicle license violation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to Fox News.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.