Local and state police have detained a suspect, Athens resident Jose Antonio Ibarra, in the murder of former UGA and Augusta University student Laken Riley.
Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Woodstock, was found dead Thursday in the woods around Lake Herrick after a friend reported to police that she had gone jogging that morning and hadn’t come back.
UGA Police Chief Jeff Clark said at a news conference Friday night that authorities are seeking warrants on a long list of charges, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, concealing a death and interfering with a 911 call.
Riley died of “blunt force trauma,” Clark said.
Clark said “the evidence is robust,” including video footage from cameras along the trail where Riley was killed.
At the time of the press conference, Ibarra was still being questioned and had not been booked into jail, according to Sheriff John Q. Williams.
Clark said that Ibarra and Riley did not have a relationship, nor was there a clear motive for the killing.
“He did not know her at all,” Clark said. “It was a crime of opportunity.”
Earlier Friday, police were seen leading several men away from a South Milledge Avenue apartment building. Clark acknowledged that “three or four” men were taken into custody, but only Ibarra is being charged. Clark said he thinks Ibarra acted alone.
During the press conference, police were searching Ibarra’s apartment, Clark said, but he added that police already had enough evidence to charge Ibarra.
Clark said that Ibarra, 26, lives in Athens but is not a U.S. citizen. The chief was unsure of Ibarra’s immigration status and said he believes Ibarra is originally from Venezuela.
Despite there being no evidence yet that Ibarra came to the U.S. illegally, conservatives were quick to blame the Biden administration for Riley’s death.
“The blood of Laken Riley is on the hands of Joe Biden, [Homeland Security Secretary] Alejandro Mayorkas, and the government of Athens-Clarke County,” Athens’ congressman, Republican Mike Collins, said on X (formerly Twitter). “The Venezuelan suspect in Laken Riley’s murder is one of millions of illegal aliens that the Biden administration has released into this country to be welcomed with open arms by Democrat-run sanctuary jurisdictions.”
Riley’s murder was the first on the UGA campus in more than 30 years, according to Clark.
In addition to UGAPD, Athens-Clarke County police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also participated in the investigation. Clark, ACCPD Chief Jerry Saulters, Williams and GBI Director Chris Hosey all emphasized the importance of cooperation among agencies.
They also gave condolences to Riley’s friends and family.
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