ATHENS, Ga. — Jose Ibarra, the man accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley on the UGA campus in February, has officially been indicted by an Athens grand jury on 10 criminal counts, including three of felony murder and one of malice murder.
Malice murder is the most serious murder charge in Georgia. Ibarra, 26, was arrested the day after 22-year-old Riley was found dead in the forested area behind UGA's intramural fields.
Riley had gone for a run Feb. 22, and when she did not return, a concerned friend called campus police. UGA Police discovered her body with "visible injuries" in the forested area by Lake Herrick.
The precise circumstances of how Ibarra is alleged to have attacked Riley have not been fully detailed, though previous arrest warrants said he caused harm to her skull and "did conceal the death of another person, and/or hinder discovery by dragging the victim to a secluded area."
A new allegation made in the indictment is that Ibarra went to an apartment on Feb. 22, the day of Riley's death, at UGA's University Village Housing "for the purpose of becoming a peeping tom in that he did peep through the window and spied upon and invaded the privacy of" a separate victim.
In the weeks after her killing, Riley's death made national headlines and became a political flashpoint in the debate on border security.
Jose Ibarra full charges in Laken Riley killing
- Malice murder
- Felony murder
- Felony murder
- Felony murder
- Kidnapping with bodily injury
- Aggravated assault with intent to rape
- Aggravated battery
- Obstruction or hindering a person making emergency telephone call
- Tampering with evidence
- Peeping Tom
Criminal defense attorney Darryl Cohen, who is not affiliated with this case, said it would almost certainly go to trial. He said the case will continue to bring attention to Athens and spark changes in state legislatures and Congress.
"If (Ibarra is) convicted or pleads guilty just to the murder charge, he will get life in prison with no chance of parole," Cohen said. "The family will be grieving for the rest of their lives. The county of Clarke, the city of Athens, they're stunned that something like this could have happened, and they all want to do something to prevent it from happening. There's no statute of limitations on grief."
Ibarra will next have an arraignment before a superior court judge in Athens-Clarke County. He can either plead guilty or not guilty, and if he pleads not guilty, the case could head to trial.
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