University of Georgia murder suspect was previously arrested in 2022
- The victim has been identified as 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley
- She was found unconscious Thursday with 'visible injuries'
- Her reported cause of death is blunt force trauma
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(NewsNation) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp expressed fury over the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley, suggesting in a letter to the White House that her alleged killer slipped through cracks in the Biden administration’s immigration policy.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to NewsNation that Jose Ibarra, the man accused of murdering Riley, is a citizen of Venezuela who crossed into the United States illegally in 2022.
According to ICE officials, Ibarra made his way to New York City, where he was arrested Sept. 14, 2023 and charged with “acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. He was released by the NYPD before a detainer could be issued.”
Ibarra was arrested on Friday for the killing of the nursing student who was killed in broad daylight while out on her morning jog along a popular University of Georgia running trail.
Authorities are confident Riley didn’t know her attacker, but NewsNation can confirm a link between Jose Ibarra and the University of Georgia.
A UGA spokesperson revealed that Jose’s brother, Diego, worked in a campus dining hall as a dishwasher. Diego was hired just two weeks before the murder but was fired for presenting a fake green card before receiving a paycheck.
Diego Ibarra is also behind bars. Law enforcement reveals Diego is also in the country illegally and has been arrested and released several times in the last year.
Official records show that Jose Ibarra resided at an apartment just blocks from the UGA campus, not far from the Lake Herrick exercise trail where Riley’s body was found.
A makeshift memorial has emerged since the grim discovery, with one person renaming the area “Lake Laken.”
Riley had been a student at UGA until last spring when she transferred to Augusta University. Friends describe her as sweet and kind, with the best Southern manners, always wearing a smile. She was an avid runner, training for a marathon she planned to run with her roommate.
A memorial organized by her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, is set for Monday on campus, while Riley’s funeral services are scheduled for Friday at Woodstock City Church in her hometown.
A GoFundMe campaign was established to establish a scholarship in Riley’s name, raising over $100,000 in just two days.
Governor Brian Kemp gave another update on the case in Georgia Monday morning.
Kemp has expressed fury over the 22-year-old’s death, suggesting in a letter to the White House that her alleged killer slipped through cracks in the Biden administration’s immigration policy.
“It is an understatement to say that this is a major crisis,” Kemp said during a news conference. “Because of the White House’s failures, every state is now a border state. Laken Riley’s murder is just the latest proof of that.”
