The Venezuelan man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been found guilty of her February murder and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. Jose Ibarra, 26, had waived his right to a jury trial, so Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard heard and decided the case. Ibarra was convicted on three counts of felony murder and counts of malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and peeping Tom, reports NBC News. The judge gave Ibarra the maximum possible penalty on the charges, a total of two life sentences plus 27 years, CNN reports. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
The AP reports Riley's family and roommates cried as the verdict was read. Ibarra showed no visible reaction. The killing added fuel to the national debate over immigration when federal authorities said Ibarra illegally entered the US in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case. The trial began Friday and saw prosecutors call more than a dozen law enforcement officers, Riley's roommates, and a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra. Defense attorneys called a police officer, a jogger, and one of Ibarra's neighbors on Tuesday and rested their case Wednesday morning.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge that Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22 and killed her during a struggle. Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta. Defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck said in her closing argument that there wasn't sufficient evidence to prove that her client killed Riley and that Ibarra's brother, Diego Ibarra, could have committed the murder. She suggested the DNA evidence could have been contaminated because the brothers shared clothing and a bed. This story has been updated with news of Ibarra's sentence.
(More
Laken Riley stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
