The man accused of murdering Georgia college student Laken Riley is undocumented and had been previously detained by immigration authorities, NewsNation reports.
Riley, 22, was found dead Thursday on the University of Georgia campus in Athens after she went for a run. Investigators believe she was killed by blunt force trauma.
Police have arrested 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra in connection with Riley’s death, and as of Friday do not believe he had any relationship with or knew the victim before the attack. He was not a UGA student nor a U.S. citizen, but he did live in Athens.
“He did not know her at all. I think this was a crime of opportunity,” UGA Police Chief Jeff Clark said at a press conference on Friday, according to WSB-TV.
Federal authorities have not commented publicly on Ibarra’s immigration status, but unnamed sources told NewsNation that he is undocumented. CrimeOnline has not independently corroborated NewsNation’s report.
Ibarra allegedly entered the United States in 2022 in El Paso, Texas, and had been detained, but he had been released because of insufficient detention space, according to NewsNation.
Ibarra’s brother, Diego Ibarra, was arrested and charged Friday for allegedly possessing a fake green card, Atlanta News First reports. A police officer approached him because he appeared to match the description of the suspect wanted for Riley’s murder.
The Department of Justice said that after Diego Ibarra was arrested, he “claimed a credible fear of return to Venezuela,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He is presently waiting for an asylum hearing.
Riley had been a UGA student until last year, when she transferred to nearby Augusta University for its nursing program. She was a junior and had made the dean’s list.
One of Riley’s friends reported her missing shortly after noon Thursday after she did not return home from the run. Her body was later found in a wooded area near Lake Herrick by intramural fields on the campus.
On Saturday, Ibarra was being held in the Clarke County Jail after he was denied bond, according to 11 Alive.
He faces charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another person.
[Feature Photo: Laken Hope Riley/Facebook]
