Share and Follow
VIDEO has emerged of the arrest of the suspected murderer of Laken Hope Riley, killed at the University of Georgia on Thursday.
Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested by Athens police on Friday for allegedly killing Riley while she was jogging near a lake on the UGA campus, university police said in a statement.
Video of the arrest shows police pressing Ibarra up against a police car while they handcuff him, as captured by Atlanta First News.
Police received a call at around noon on Thursday from a person requesting a welfare check on a friend who never returned home after going on a jog.
The 22-year-old victim was found dead was found dead in a forested area behind Lake Herrick near the college campus, the University of Georgia Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark said.
Investigators said they found visible injuries on Riley’s body and suspected foul play was involved in her death.
Police said on Friday that Riley died of blunt force trauma and they had arrested Ibarra as their top suspect.
Ibarra lived in an apartment behind Oconee Forest Park, where Riley’s body was found.
Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark said that officers took multiple people into custody in connection with the crime but found a “robust” amount of evidence that pointed to Ibarra.
Ibarra did not know Riley before the murder, police said.
“At this stage, we believe he did not know her at all. I think this was a crime of opportunity where he saw an individual and bad things happened,” Clark said.
The 26-year-old suspect illegally came from Venezuela to the US by crossing the border into El Paso, Texas, in 2022, according to News Nation citing DHS sources.
He was reportedly released from DHS custody due to a lack of detention space.
Police haven’t yet said what led up to the murder but Ibarra has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, hindering a 911 call, and concealing a death.
Ibarra’s brother, Diego Ibarra, 29, was also arrested on separate charges on Friday, according to local NBC affiliate WXIA-TV.
Police alleged that Diego presented investigators with a fake green card when they questioned him about his brother, and that he is actually residing in the US illegally.
Diego has been charged with the possession of a fraudulent document and was issued a deportation notice, which he is currently appealing.
Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University’s off-campus program, the College of Nursing in Athens, about 10 minutes east of UGA’s campus.
She was an undergraduate student at UGA until the spring of 2023 when she began attending Augusta University’s nursing program.
Families, friends well-wishers have posted hundreds of messages online in commemoration of Riley since her untimely death.
“It is with deepest sorrow that I share with you the news that one of our students at our College of Nursing campus at Athens has passed away,” Augusta University President Brooks A. Keel said in a statement.
“The best sister and my built-in best friend from the very first second,” the victim’s sister, Lauren Riley, posted on Instagram along with a black-and-white photo of the victim.
“Laken Riley’s tragic death struck the hearts of Georgians everywhere and has sparked national outrage,” Georgia Governor Brian Kemp wrote on Facebook.
The College Nursing that Riley attended also issued a statement following the announcement of her death.
“Not only was she a bright and dedicated student, but she had the distinct honor of making the Fall 2023 Dean’s List,” the statement read according to WXIA-TV.
“Laken’s compassion and care for others is evident by her desire to be a nurse, and her choice of sorority, Alpha Chi Omega,” the statement continued.
“We know that she would have been a wonderful nurse, and her passing is a loss for the profession and the communities she would have graciously served.”
UGA also held a vigil in Riley’s name late last week.