A 26-year-old man charged with kidnapping and murdering a nursing scholar on the College of Georgia in Athens will stay in jail after he was denied bond at a listening to on Saturday, the authorities stated.
The suspect, Jose Antonio Ibarra, lived in an condominium complicated about one mile from a wooded path the place the physique of Laken Riley, 22, was discovered on Thursday afternoon, stated Jeffrey Clark, the chief of college police. Ms. Riley, a scholar at close by Augusta College and a former scholar on the College of Georgia, had been reported lacking by buddies after she didn’t return from a run.
Mr. Ibarra, a resident of Athens who just isn’t a U.S. citizen, migrated to america from Venezuela, the authorities stated. He was arrested by the Border Patrol for crossing the border illegally in September 2022 and was launched rapidly with short-term permission to remain within the nation, a federal legislation enforcement official stated Saturday. That launch, or parole, was a follow the administration used when officers have been overwhelmed with excessive numbers of crossings. The administration ended that follow about six months later.
It was typical for a lot of Venezuelans to be launched with permission to remain quickly as a result of they might not be repatriated again to their nation because of strained diplomatic relations. Some six million Venezuelans have fled their troubled nation, the biggest inhabitants displacement in Latin America’s fashionable historical past.
On Saturday, it was not clear what Mr. Ibarra’s immigration standing was.
Many conservative politicians, together with Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia, on Saturday linked the killing to the immigration insurance policies of President Biden, which they contend have overwhelmed the nation with extra migrants than the system can deal with. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the Home, urged the president to shut the border.
“House Republicans will continue to fight tooth and nail for a return to law and order,” Mr. Johnson stated in a submit on X.
On Friday, the Justice Division stated that Mr. Ibarra had a brother, Diego Ibarra, 29, who was additionally from Venezuela and who had been charged with possessing a pretend inexperienced card.
The authorities stated the suspect and Ms. Riley didn’t know one another, characterizing the killing as “a crime of opportunity,” and that Ms. Riley died by “blunt force trauma.” Jose Ibarra can also be charged with aggravated assault, false imprisonment, hindering a 911 name and concealing the dying of one other individual. It was unclear on Saturday whether or not Mr. Ibarra had any authorized illustration.
On the condominium complicated listed because the handle for the suspect, one resident, Manuel Alcides, 26, stated there have been many Venezuelan migrants dwelling within the constructing. Mr. Alcides, who can also be from Venezuela, stated that he repeatedly spoke with a handful of the migrants, however none of them knew Mr. Ibarra or his brother, whose listed handle was close by, or have been conscious of after they had arrived.
“It’s a danger for our community because society will look at this error and think the rest of us could be a threat,” Mr. Alcides stated of the killing. “But we’re not all the same.”
Extra particulars got here out in regards to the suspect as college students and residents of the town continued to cope with the shock of the primary murder on the campus in many years. The killing additionally occurred in the future after information, unrelated to Ms. Riley’s dying, {that a} scholar had died by suicide on campus.
“The air has been super heavy the past few days,” stated Nick Winters, a senior on the college. He added, “Everyone around here has been very down, very in the dumps about what’s going on.”
Greater than 22,000 folks have signed a petition urging for the set up of emergency lights within the wooded space the place Ms. Riley’s physique was discovered. The lights, activated by pushing a button, can be immediately linked to the police.
Mayor Kelly Girtz of Athens stated that the killing was clearly affecting everybody. “As a parent myself of a child who is walking the streets of this town every day, it is so difficult to see these kinds of experiences happen,” he stated. “And so I’m feeling for the family of the young woman in question and all of her friends and loved ones.”
In posts on Instagram, Ms. Riley’s buddies described her as an incredible pal, scholar and roommate, who cherished working, dancing and singing, and who had an infectious snort.
Bianca Tiller, Ms. Riley’s freshman-year roommate, instructed The Occasions that Ms. Riley “lit up every room she walked into and brought a smile on everyone’s face.”
“She was the first to gather us up to study together and go on coffee runs,” Ms. Tiller stated. “She built so many friendships and relationships, which we are all forever grateful for and will use to honor her amazing spirit.”
Anna Betts, Emily Schmall, Richard Fausset, Hamed Aleaziz, Miriam Jordan and Aimee Ortiz contributed reporting. Jack Begg contributed analysis.
