A Georgia grand jury on Wednesday indicted Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan migrant charged with killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley in February, according to court documents.
Ibarra was formally indicted on 10 charges, including malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a person from making a 911 call, tampering with evidence and an additional “peeping Tom” charge.
“I am pleased to share that Ms. Laken Riley’s murderer, Jose Ibarra, has been formally indicted by a Georgia grand jury,” Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins said on Wednesday. “This is a critical step in achieving justice for her and her family.”
Ibarra, a 26-year-old migrant who reportedly entered the country illegally, is suspected of killing Riley, a student at Augusta University, while she was out for a run on the nearby University of Georgia campus in Athens on Feb. 22.
ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP/Getty Images
The indictment reveals new information in the case that garnered national attention. Ibarra allegedly attempted to rape Riley before “striking her head multiple times with a rock” and “asphyxiating her in a manner unknown to jurors.”
He is also accused of disposing his jacket and gloves to conceal the crime.
University of Georgia Police discovered Riley’s body with “visible injuries.”
University Police Chief Jeff Clark said at the time it did not appear that Ibarra knew Riley and that it seemed to be a “crime of opportunity, where he saw an individual and bad things happened.”
Ibarra was identified using a photo from surveillance cameras, according to a federal affidavit.
The new indictment charges Ibarra with allegedly going onto the UGA campus and spying on women in an apartment complex. He is also being accused of looking through windows and invading the privacy of a university staff member.
Could Ibarra be executed if convicted?
Georgia has the death penalty, though has not been an execution in the state in four years. As of March, 31 men and one woman are on death row in the state.
For murder, the offender must meet at least one aggravating circumstance, such as committing another capital felony or aggravated battery, which Ibarra is being accused of. The capital offense could also be considered inhumane, or it could be committed by someone for the purpose of avoiding or interfering with lawful confinement.
Some of the aggravating factors also apply to rape or kidnapping.
The question of whether the district attorney overseeing the case will seek the death penalty is a different matter. Deborah Gonzales, a progressive Democrat, was elected as in 2020 as the first Hispanic woman D.A. in the state’s history. She ran on ending both cash bail and capital punishment.
Georgia’s Republican Governor, Brian Kemp, was asked by reporters in February if he had faith that Gonzales could “bring this case, this suspect, to justice,” and responded simply: “She best to do that.”
Houston Gaines, a Republican state representative from Athens, said at the same time there were efforts underway to remove Gonzales from the case, according to reports in local media.
Newsweek reached out to Gonzales’ office for comment but did not immediately hear back.
When prosecutors seeks the death penalty in a case, the sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous. The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles is able to grant mercy.
Ibarra illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 near El Paso, Texas, according to immigration officials. He was living in an apartment close to the University of Georgia and had previously failed to appear in court on a shoplifting charge.
Riley’s father, Jason Riley, told NBC News in March he feared Ibarra’s immigration status was overshadowing the narrative of his daughter’s death. The case quickly turned political, with former President Donald Trump and other Republicans calling for Riley’s “justice” and blaming her murder on President Joe Biden’s immigration policies. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green shouted Riley’s name during President Biden’s State of the Union in March.
“I think it’s being used politically to get those votes,” Jason Riley said. “It makes me angry. I feel like, you know, they’re just using my daughter’s name for that. And she was much better than that, and she should be raised up for the person that she is. She was an angel.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.