Prosecutors say DNA, fingerprints show Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley

The man indicted for slaying Laken Riley earlier this year “went out looking for women” the day the Georgia nursing student was killed, prosecutors told a judge Friday on the first day of Jose Antonio Ibarra’s trial.

“When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he repeatedly smashed her skull with a rock,” prosecutor Sheila Ross said in her opening statement.

A medical examiner determined Riley died of blunt force trauma and strangulation and had a complex skull fracture and eight other lacerations on the left side of her head, she said.

Riley’s killing became a flashpoint in the immigration debate. Ibarra, 26, is a Venezuelan national who entered the United States illegally in 2022, officials have said. Republicans, including Donald Trump, who met with Riley’s parents before a campaign rally in March, have used the case to call for stricter border policies.

Ross said the prosecution’s forensic, digital and video evidence “will point to one person, Jose Ibarra, as the killer of Laken Riley.”

Ibarra faces multiple charges, including three counts of felony murder and charges of malicious murder, kidnapping with bodily harm, aggravated assault with intent to rape and “looking Tom.” He is accused of attacking Riley while she was out jogging on the morning of February 22. She was found dead later that day in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus in Athens after her roommates called the police when she did not return home. Riley’s three roommates testified Friday.

Ibarra has waived his right to a jury trial. Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard will consider the evidence and determine if Ibarra is guilty.

Ross told the judge Friday that prosecutors would show that Ibarra’s DNA was found under Riley’s fingernails and that his thumbprint was found on her iPhone.

She said police also found a jacket in a dumpster near where Ibarra lived, and it was determined to have both Ibarra’s and Riley’s blood on it. Riley’s blood was also found on black gloves found discarded near Ibarra’s home.

Ibarra’s defense attorneys called the evidence against him circumstantial.

“The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed someone is circumstantial,” defense attorney Dustin Kirby said, adding the evidence “connecting Mr. Ibarra to that event is lacking” upon closer inspection.

Kirby said there is not enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ibarra is guilty of the crimes he was charged with.

Earlier, police said there was no indication the suspect knew the victim and that Ibarra did not have an extensive criminal record.