The bench trial of 26-year-old Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra for the rape and murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley concluded on Wednesday. Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Ibarra guilty on all 10 counts, including aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, obstructing or hindering a person making a 911 call, and tampering with evidence because, as trial testimony disclosed, Ibarra attempted to conceal the jacket and gloves he wore when the murder was committed.
A Venezuelan man has been convicted of murder in the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, a case that fueled the national debate over immigration during this year’s presidential race.
Jose Ibarra was charged with murder and other crimes in Riley’s February death, and the guilty verdict was reached Wednesday by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Ibarra, 26, had waived his right to a jury trial, meaning that Haggard alone heard and decided the case.
Riley’s family and roommates cried as the verdict was read. Ibarra didn’t visibly react.
Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial. After the verdict was rendered, Judge Haggard stated he was prepared to sentence Ibarra but deferred to prosecution and defense counsel on that decision. A recess was requested by special prosecutor Sheila Ross and Judge Haggard adjourned until 12:30 p.m. EST.
The trial began Friday, and prosecutors called more than a dozen law enforcement officers, Riley’s roommates and a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra. Defense attorneys called a police officer, a jogger and one of Ibarra’s neighbors on Tuesday and rested their case Wednesday morning.
As RedState reported, the harrowing trial was a glaring example of the failure and real-world victims of the Biden-Harris open-borders immigration policy.
