Trial Begins For The Man Accused Of Killing Georgia Nursing Student Laken Riley
November 15, 2024 12:11PM CST
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A prosecutor says the man on trial in the killing of nursing student Laken Riley “went hunting for females” on the University of Georgia campus that February day.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge Tuesday at the outset of Jose Ibarra’s trial that the Venezuelan man encountered Riley while she was out for a run and killed her when “she refused to be his rape victim.”
Her body was found on the campus.
Ibarra’s attorney, Dustin Kirby, called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing, but he said none of it proves that Ibarra killed Riley.
Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally two years ago, and the case helped fan the immigration debate during this year’s presidential race.