The Killing of Laken Riley

Man Found Guilty of Murder

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

In February 2024, 22-year-old Laken Riley was murdered by Jose Antonio Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Riley was out for her morning jog at the University of Georgia when she was killed. Her body was found brutalized, and the clothes she wore were pulled down to her waist. Riley’s Apple Watch indicated that she fought Ibarra off of her for 20 minutes. 

Riley left scratches, cuts and bruises all over his body. Ibarra eventually got frustrated with Riley’s refusal and found a nearby rock, bashing Riley’s skull in several times. Before he took her life, Riley was able to use the SOS signal on her phone to dial 911; however, all that could be heard were the sounds of the 22-year-old struggling to breathe. 

Ibarra’s DNA was found under Riley’s fingernails. Ibarra’s fingerprints were also later discovered on Riley’s phone.

On Nov. 20, Ibarra was found guilty of all 10 counts against him: one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, one count each of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, evidence tampering and being a Peeping Tom.