ATHENS, Ga. – It’s common for school college students to jog alongside the grime trails that weave round Lake Herrick and varied intramural fields on the south a part of the University of Georgia’s campus in Athens.
That’s what Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing scholar at Augusta College, got down to do on Thursday morning, as she did many mornings, however Riley didn’t come residence this time.
Her roommate contacted campus police to report her lacking, and inside half an hour, authorities found Riley dead in a wooded space behind the lake with “visible injuries.”
That morning, 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, an unlawful immigrant from Venezeula residing in an residence constructing that sits on the sting of the park the place Riley was working, allegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of opportunity.”
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Laken Riley, a nursing scholar, was discovered lifeless close to a lake on campus on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Fb)
Ibarra is now dealing with expenses of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 name and concealing the loss of life of one other.
Riley died of blunt drive trauma, Clark stated throughout a Friday night press convention asserting Ibarra’s fast arrest.
Jose Ibarra, who was taken into custody on Friday by the UGA Police Division in reference to Riley’s loss of life. (Clarke County Sheriff’s Workplace)
The scenic loop Riley ran that morning is well accessible from behind Ibarra’s residence advanced. It’s a five-minute stroll from Ibarra’s door to the approximate scene the place Riley was discovered lifeless.
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An exterior view of Jose Antonio Ibarra’s residence in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Ibarra has been charged with the homicide of Laken Riley after she was discovered lifeless alongside a strolling path on campus. (Mark Sims for Fox Information Digital)
An Athens local named Dominic who spoke with Fox Information Digital stated he’s been strolling the identical loop in Oconee Forest Park, a 60-acre pure space, since he was 14. Dominic is 51 now, with an outdated canine who doesn’t get pleasure from strolling as a lot as his proprietor does.
The a part of the path the place Riley was positioned close to a retention pond has all the time appeared “eerie” to him. There aren’t any seen safety cameras or blue lights within the space.
An Athens native walks his canine round a Lake Herrick pedestrian loop, a part of which he described as “eerie.” (Mark Sims for Fox Information Digital)
“It’s great if you’re on a bike, going fast, but if you’re walking, unless you have a big German Shepherd with you – I wouldn’t want my mom and sister walking here alone.”
The explanation that particular a part of the path creeps him out, Dominic stated, is due to the railroad tracks and residence buildings that border the realm. There aren’t any fences separating the UGA-owned park from the buildings.
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The college not too long ago minimize down “overgrown” cattails in that particular a part of the path to offer pedestrians higher visibility – to make it really feel safer, Dominic stated. One other common walker, Cheri Smithson, additionally famous the not too long ago mowed cattails.
“It’s never felt right to me.”
The path was abnormally quiet on a sunny Saturday morning after Riley’s loss of life. Often, the path is so busy on nice-weather weekends that pedestrians sporting headphones could be seen bumping into one another, Dominic stated. The off-leash canine house owners and on-leash canine house owners argue with each other.
Not this Saturday. Solely regulars confirmed; Smithson left a bouquet of yellow ranunculuses on the scene the place Riley was discovered.
“Everybody – they’ll say, that’s the spot where your head’s on a swivel.… It’s a scary spot,” Smithson stated.
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Cheri Smithson leaves flowers for Laken Riley alongside Lake Herrick on the College of Georgia’s campus in Athens, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Mark Sims for Fox Information Digital)
Riley’s slaying has left the UGA neighborhood “reeling,” stated Michelle, the mom of a feminine scholar.
“It’s unsettling to me to think there are people in pockets around the country that are unstable and could commit crimes,” she instructed Fox Information Digital.
Laken Riley smiles for a photograph whereas working. (Laken Riley/Instagram)
Michelle, a UGA alum, stated she’s instructed her daughter numerous instances to watch out when she walks alone, to solely go working along with her lab, to pay attention to her environment when consuming at night time with pals.
“It’s a mother’s worst nightmare.”
“It shakes people to their core because it makes people realize there’s a dirty underbelly we don’t see,” she stated. “My heart breaks. I’ve been praying for [Riley’s] mom every time she comes to mind.”
Laken Riley poses for a photograph posted to Fb. (Laken Riley/Fb)
Riley’s household posted a press release on Saturday, describing the 22-year-old as “an amazing daughter, sister, friend and overall person.”
“Her love for the Lord was exemplified in every aspect of her life. She will be missed every day, but we promise to honor her life moving forward in a very big way,” the assertion shared with WXIA learn, partly. “During this most difficult time, we ask that you respect our privacy, and provide us the time and space necessary to grieve our daughter’s life that was tragically cut short.”
Laken Riley’s household posted a press release, describing her as “an amazing daughter, sister, friend and overall person.” (Laken Riley/Fb)
Ibarra’s neighbors instructed Fox Information Digital that police swarmed the car parking zone of their advanced on Thursday and Friday. Authorities sat Ibarra in a garden chair outdoors his residence – the place he lived along with his older brother, Diego Ibarra, and two others – and questioned him. They took Jose into custody first after which his brother, who has been charged with inexperienced card fraud.
“I just got a weird vibe from him,” one neighbor stated of Jose.
An exterior view of Jose Antonio Ibarra’s residence in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Mark Sims for Fox Information Digital)
One other feminine neighbor stated she’d spoken to him a couple of times in passing and by no means thought something uncommon about him.
A Clarke County Justice of the Peace choose on Saturday morning denied Ibarra’s bond “for today” as a result of the court docket doesn’t set bonds.
Jose Antonio Ibarra’s public defender and translator arrive on the Athens-Clarke County Jail in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. (Mark Sims for Fox Information Digital)
Ibarra wore a pink jumpsuit and shackles in court docket, and he nodded when translators spoke to him. His public defender stated Ibarra understands the costs filed towards him.
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The 26-year-old suspect illegally crossed into america by way of El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was launched into the U.S. through parole, three ICE and DHS, sources instructed Fox Information.
Fox Information’ Invoice Melugin contributed to this report.
