ATHENS, Ga. () – A major legal win for the man convicted of killing a Georgia nursing student.

A judge has ruled that Jose Ibarra should be mentally evaluated.

Ibarra was convicted of killing Laken Riley, an AU student at the College of Nursing campus in Athens, in 2024.

Laken was out for a run on on campus the morning of February 22nd. Officers began searching for her after receiving a call that had not returned.

She was found in the wooded area behind Lake Herrick. Investigators say she was unconscious, not breathing and had visible injuries. Emergency responders confirmed she was deceased.

Later that evening, a suspect identified as then 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested and charged in Laken’s death. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in November 2024.

The judge’s decision comes after the lawyers handling his appeal claimed Ibarra was suffering from congenital deficiency and had not been competent to stand trial last year.

Prosecutes say there was no evidence during the trial that Ibarra, who was convicted of life without parole, was mentally competent.