ATHENS, Ga. — Arrest warrants for Jose Antonio Ibarra, the accused killer of 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, offer some small additional details on the charges in a case that has made national headlines, become a political flashpoint in the debate on border security and shaken the University of Georgia community.
Riley, a Woodstock native and Augusta University student who was at UGA through a school partnership program, was found dead Thursday near the campus intramural fields. She had gone for a run and, when she did not return, a concerned friend called campus police.
UGA Police discovered her body with "visible injuries" in a forested area by Lake Herrick.
Ibarra, 26, was arrested the next day. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said over the weekend that Ibarra was first arrested in Sept. 2022 "after unlawfully entering the United States near El Paso, Texas." 11Alive Investigates reported Tuesday morning further on his past charges.
Much remains unknown of the specific details about how exactly Ibarra came to allegedly attack Riley, and what if any motive may have existed.
But the warrants accuse Ibarra with some specific acts. Those include:
- His aggravated assault charge alleges "causing great bodily harm with an object." The object is not specified.
- His aggravated battery charge alleges bodily harm caused to Riley's skull.
- His charge of concealing death of another alleges he "did conceal the death of another person, and/or hinder discovery by dragging the victim to a secluded area."
Additionally, police have previously said the call from the concerned friend came in around noon on Feb. 22, and that officers were in the area by about 12:38 p.m. The arrest warrants allege the killing happened sometime between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Ibarra faces eight charges in all at this time -- malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of a another.
He made a first court appearance on Saturday, a proceeding at which he was not eligible for bond due to his murder charges. A Superior Court bond hearing or preliminary hearing, which would come next, has not yet been scheduled in the case.