Earlier, we learned Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, the illegal immigrant charged in the February murder of 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley, was found guilty during a bench trial on all 10 counts, which included malice murder and aggravated assault with intent to rape. Athens-Clarke County (Georgia) Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard presided over the case and rendered the verdict around lunchtime. Riley’s family could be heard sobbing in the background as the verdict was read.
Shortly after, family members and friends of Ms. Riley gave their victim impact statements. Through tears, her mother, Allyson Phillips, asked the judge to put Ibarra behind bars with no chance of ever becoming free again.
“There’s no end to the pain and suffering that he inflicted on our family and our friends,” she said. “I’m asking you to please give this monster life without any chance of parole so that he never gets the chance to hurt anyone else, ever again.” The judge did just that, sentencing Ibarra to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
READ MORE: Laken Riley’s Family and Friends Give Heartbreaking Impact Statements; Judge Sentences Jose Ibarra
Not surprisingly, some in the media and on the left are trying to do their thing in the aftermath of the verdict and sentencing, revising history to try and blame Riley’s murder on President-elect Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.
One such individual, however, was in for a strong rebuke.
Fox News national correspondent Bill Melugin, who has extensively covered the Biden-Harris border crisis for years now, took to the Twitter/X machine to remind folks just how preventable Riley’s death was:
Government failed Laken Riley at every step of the way.
Her killer was in federal custody after crossing the border illegally, then released.
He was released again in sanctuary city NYC after an arrest – ICE not notified.
Then NYC gave him a taxpayer funded flight to GA, according to his partner’s testimony.
It’s unacceptable at every single level.
RIP Laken Riley.
In response, one Democrat apologist attempted to shift blame to House and Senate Republicans:
Melugin was not having it, and responded accordingly by dropping some facts:
In their opening statements delivered Friday, prosecutors laid out the horrific details of Laken Riley’s final moments, noting that she fought back and had Ibarra’s DNA under her fingernails. They also shared that she was found partially nude and that Ibarra struck her head multiple times with a rock, and strangled her. The smartwatch she wore recorded her final heartbeat at 9:28 a.m. that day.
In short, they said that Riley was viciously killed by Ibarra because she “refused to be his rape victim.”
May God bless her family and provide them with the peace that passes all understanding. RIP, Laken Riley.
FLASHBACK: Laken Riley’s Heartbroken Dad Speaks Out, Killer ‘Might Not Have Been Here Had We Had Secure Borders’
