A Venezuelan national who ruthlessly killed a nursing student at the University of Georgia while in the country without the required paperwork will be imprisoned for the rest of his life.

Following the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley while jogging on campus, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was informed of his fate on Wednesday.

After being found guilty of murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, kidnapping with bodily damage, tampering with evidence, peeping Tom, and delaying or hindering someone making an emergency phone call, the defendant was sentenced right away. Ibarra’s case garnered national attention since he was an unauthorized immigrant.

Associated coverage:

According to CBS News, Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, reprimanded the defendant.

She told me that the loss, anguish, and suffering we have gone through and will go through are endless. There was no regard for Laken or human life in this sick, deranged, and malevolent coward. We request that he receive the same treatment.

Ibarra spied on a woman in an apartment at the University of Village Housing complex on February 22, which led to the murder.

According to the authorities, he lived in an apartment close to Oconee Forest Park, the scene of Riley’s murder, and he didn’t know Riley. The case was a crime of opportunity.

When Riley’s buddy called UGA police at 12:07 p.m. on February 22 to report that she had gone for a run in the Intramural Fields earlier in the morning and had not returned as planned, the case became public knowledge.

First responders investigated the area after reaching the recreational area, which has a number of sports fields, tennis courts, and paths for bicyclists and runners. At 12:38 p.m., they swiftly found Riley in the wooded area behind Lake Herrick, according to police.

The affidavit states that the victim’s body was found in the woods, lying on the ground. She was not breathing and appeared to be unconscious.

Officers began CPR as soon as they noticed her injuries. Upon arrival, emergency medical personnel concluded that she had passed away.

Prosecutors said during Ibarra’s trial that he met Riley while looking for women on the University of Georgia campus.

During her opening statement, special prosecutor Sheila Ross said that he repeatedly struck Laken Riley’s head with a rock after she declined to be his rape victim, as reported by the Washington Post.

Prosecutors asserted that Ibarra’s DNA was found beneath Riley’s fingernails, and detectives took the defendant’s thumbprint from her phone screen. His defense lawyer tried to explain that the evidence against Ibarra was circumstantial.

Surveillance footage reportedly showed him trying to get rid of evidence.

According to a news statement from the University of Georgia Police Department, Riley was enrolled at the Augusta University College of Nursing program in Athens at the time of her death after attending UGA until the spring semester of 2023.

After it was discovered that Ibarra, a Venezuelan national, had entered the country illegally in 2022 and traveled through El Paso, Texas, before being arrested and then freed, her murder attracted national attention.

The case also prompted lawmakers to push for The Laken Riley Act, which would impose stricter immigration rules by requiring US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain undocumented people accused of specific crimes.

In March, the bill was approved 251-170, with 37 Democrats joining all Republicans in support.

While we cannot bring Laken back, we must now focus on doing everything we can to prevent this from happening to another American, Representative Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican who authored the bill, stated. The Laken Riley Act is a key piece in our fight to restore the rule of law and get criminal illegal aliens off our streets.

Colleagues, today we act on behalf of those who are no longer with us because of Joe Biden s policies, she said. Let us continue to pray for her family and friends as they mourn her loss and vow to continue fighting for the American people against the lawlessness created by this administration. Let us ensure justice for Laken Riley.

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