Georgia student killing suspect illegally migrated to US: Authorities

(NewsNation) — The University of Georgia Police Department arrested 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra in connection to the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley.

Police announced that Ibarra is not a U.S. citizen and was not a student at UGA nor did he know Riley personally. According to multiple DHS sources, he is here illegally from Venezuela. Sources confirm he crossed in September of 2022 into El Paso, Texas, and was released due to lack of detention space.

“He saw an individual and bad things happened,” University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark said at a news conference Friday.

Ibarra is expected to be charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another.

Investigators are currently searching Ibarra’s apartment. According to police, he does not have an extensive criminal history in regard to violence, and evidence suggests the killing was a solo act.

Riley’s body was found Thursday on the UGA campus after she went for a jog, according to investigators. Her cause of death was reported to be blunt force trauma.

She was a student at UGA until last spring but had transferred to a nursing program at a nearby school, Augusta University. She was a junior and dean’s list student who studied on the school’s Athens campus.

The 22-year-old was reported missing by a friend at 12:07 p.m. Thursday after she didn’t return home from a run.

At this time, there are no indications of a continuing threat to the UGA campus related to this matter.

University of Georgia spokesman just announced they have a person of interest they are questioning right now as part of their investigation into the murder of Laken Riley. pic.twitter.com/fQewngsNDM
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) February 23, 2024

Officers found Riley unconscious with “visible injuries” in a forested area behind Lake Herrick near the intramural fields around 12:38 p.m., police said. That area is across a busy road from a large dorm and dining hall complex.

Foul play is suspected, and the incident is being investigated as a homicide.

Classes on the UGA Athens campus and the Augusta University College of Nursing campus at Athens were canceled Friday.

The UGA Police Department is asking anyone with information to call 706-542-2200.