Laken Riley, 22, left home at 9.03am. on February 22 with her iPhone for a February morning jog.
She brought her smartwatch and noise-cancelling AirPods along for the run.
Just 25 minutes later, she was dead.
Her house’s Ring camera footage captured Riley, wearing a ponytail and dressed in a black jacket, black leggings and white sneakers as she left.
One of the nursing student’s roommates later wondered why she hadn’t returned home. Riley wasn’t known for being late or off schedule.
She’d been gone for hours.
Concerned, the roommate checked Riley’s location using her phone’s Find My feature.
Riley’s initials, “LR,” had not budged on the app.
Her phone’s last known location was the nearby University of Georgia, USA trail she often visited.
Her roommates called authorities.
A university police officer searched the wooded area near the trail.
In about 20 minutes, he found Riley’s partially nude remains.
Prosecutors in the murder trial of Jose Ibarra, 26, are expected to provide new details showing why they believe the undocumented Venezuelan migrant is responsible for Riley’s death as the trial resumes on Monday (local time).
Opening statements began Friday, nine months after Riley, a student at Augusta University’s Athens campus in Georgia, USA, was fatally struck in the head with a rock several times and asphyxiated.
Ibarra is charged with murder and aggravated assault with intent to rape in connection with Riley’s death.
His legal defence team argued on Friday any evidence pointing to his involvement in Riley’s killing is “circumstantial.”
DNA and technology, including a call Riley made to 911, offer clues into what happened near the end of the student’s life and who prosecutors believe is responsible.
A left thumbprint with DNA matching Ibarra was later discovered on Riley’s phone, according to prosecutors.
Riley’s final moments were revealed through opening statements from prosecutors and the testimony of her roommates.
Riley’s final movements captured on cameras, iPhone location
Around 8am on February 22, Riley was hanging out at home with her iPad.
She took notes. Did her homework. Watched Netflix.
She and her roommate and occasional running partner, Connolly Huth, chatted about their weekend plans. At about 8.45am, Huth left for class. She’d never see Riley again.
Riley set off on her run not long after. Around 9.05am, a trail camera spotted her jogging toward what would soon become a crime scene.
Riley’s mother would normally speak with her daughter during her runs. She called Riley around 9.06am.
Her mother then called Riley’s three roommates, each of whom shared their phone’s locations with one another, including Riley’s.
Mobile phone service issues with provider AT&T that day had hindered the roommates’ efforts to locate Riley. They couldn’t reach her for hours.
Lilly Steiner and Sofia Magana, Riley’s roommates, searched the trail for her around 11.30 am.
Riley’s last-known Find My location in the middle of Oconee Forest Park guided them.
There was no sign of Riley.
The women instead came across a single AirPod. It was Riley’s.
With no cellular service in the woods, they returned home to call the University of Georgia police.
They reported her missing around 12.05pm.
Missionary dies trying to convert his killers
Riley’s smartwatch data captures struggle
The Garmin smartwatch Riley wore captured crucial data that prosecutors say give clues as to what happened as she struggled for her life.
Around 9.10am., the data analysed by the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team appeared to show something happening that halted Riley’s morning run.
She initiated her phone’s SOS function around that time. She called 911.
Data from the smartwatch showed Riley’s heart rate dropping over the next several minutes.
After a few more minutes, her smartwatch moved about 20m away from the trail into the woods.
Sometime during Riley’s fight for her life and the struggle over her phone, she gathered beneath her right fingernails what prosecutors say was Ibarra’s DNA.
Riley’s call to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department ended at 9.12am. Her phone disconnected the call.
Dispatchers attempted to call her back. There was no answer.
Her heart rate continued to show on the smartwatch data until just before 9.30am.
The data revealed a struggle that lasted several minutes.
At 9.28am, the smartwatch showed no further movement. Riley’s heart stopped.
