- José Ibarra was indicted on 10 counts Tuesday by a grand jury in Georgia.
Laken Riley’s alleged killer has been officially charged with the murder of the 22-year-old nursing student.
José Antonio Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, was indicted on 10 counts by a grand jury in Georgia on Tuesday.
The 26-year-old is also accused of peeking through a window to spy on a University of Georgia staff member the same day he allegedly killed Riley, as first reported by Fox News.
Riley was beaten to death while out jogging on the Athens campus on February 22.
The indictment claims Ibarra inflicted blunt force trauma to her head and “suffocated her in a manner unknown to jurors.”
He also claims that Ibarra ‘severely disfigured his head by hitting it several times with a rock.’
Laken Riley’s alleged killer has been officially charged with the nursing student’s murder.
José Ibarra, an undocumented immigrant, was indicted by a grand jury in Georgia on Tuesday
Ibarra is charged with malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated assault, obstructing or preventing a person from making a 911 call, tampering with evidence and acting as a voyeur.
He allegedly entered one of the university’s apartment complexes “for the purpose of becoming a voyeur, that is, he peeped through the window, spied and trespassed [the employee’s] privacy.’
Riley’s body was found the same day on campus, in a wooded area near Herrick Lake that includes trails popular with runners and walkers.
Ibarra crossed into El Paso, Texas, in September 2022, but had been released from a detention center due to lack of space. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Sunday that he had been previously arrested in New York.
Police say he hid a jacket and gloves that were evidence of the alleged murder.
Riley studied at the University of Georgia through spring 2023 before transferring to the Augusta University College of Nursing, according to a statement from the University of Georgia, which does not have a nursing program itself. She remained active in the sorority she joined at the University of Georgia.
