The prosecution rested its case Tuesday afternoon in the murder trial of the man accused of killing Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley. The 22-year-old Riley was killed on Feb. 22 while running at Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia campus.
During three days of testimony, prosecutors called more than a dozen law enforcement officers, Riley’s roommate, and a woman who lived in an apartment with Ibarra to testify.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross said during her opening statement that murder suspect Jose Ibarra had gone out “hunting for females” that morning in February and that he killed Riley after a struggle when she “refused to be his rape victim.” Law enforcement officers testified there was no evidence that Riley was sexually assaulted, the Associated Press reports.
The judge asked Ibarra if he wanted to testify, and he said no.
The defense began presenting its case Tuesday afternoon but quickly ran into snags when the defendant’s brother, Diego Ibarra, was pulled as a witness. In custody since pleading guilty in July to federal immigration charges, Diego Ibarra appeared in court, but his new defense attorney advised him not to testify.
Riley’s murder added fuel to the national debate over immigration when federal authorities said Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case.
Attorneys fielded testimony from three other witnesses in his defense, including a man who’d been out running the day Riley was killed and saw a suspicious man but described him as being taller and skinnier than Jose Ibarra.
WATCH Day 3: Lake Riley murder trial
Timeline
UGA Police Sgt. Sophie Raboud was among the final witnesses for the prosecution. She walked the court through a timeline of activity on Riley’s phone the morning of her death. Raboud read the text messages aloud.
According to testimony, Riley called her mother at 9:03 a.m. that morning, and by the time her mother called back about 20 minutes later, Riley had encountered Jose Ibarra on a wooded running trail. Prosecutors said Ibarra killed Riley after a struggle, and data from Riley’s smartwatch shows her heart stopped beating at 9:28 a.m.
After Riley failed to answer the phone, her mother, Allyson Phillips, texted her several times, casually at first but then with increasing concern, according to data pulled from Riley’s phone.
At 9:37 a.m., her mother texted, “Call me when you can.” Phillips called twice, and when her calls went unanswered, she texted her daughter at 9:58 a.m., “You’re making me nervous not answering while you’re out running. Are you OK?” Phillips texted again at 11:47 a.m., writing, “Please call me. I’m worried sick about you.” She and other family members continued to call Riley.
Final moments
Raboud also testified about video from surveillance cameras near the wooded trail, and Phillips and some other family members and friends cried as video played showing Riley running on the trail in her final moments.
Dr. Michelle DiMarco, a GBI medical examiner, conducted the autopsy of Riley’s body and testified that Riley had injuries, including scrapes, bruises and cuts, to her head, neck, torso, abdomen, left hand and left leg. Her injuries included eight cuts to her head, including one that fractured her skull, DiMarco said.
Jose Ibarra, 26, waived his right to a jury trial, meaning the case will be decided alone by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.
