A suspected Venezuelan migrant has been identified as the sole suspect in the alleged murder of an Augusta University nursing student, which took place on the Athens campus of the University of Georgia on Thursday.
UGA police believe that the attack was a crime of opportunity, and do not believe there was a connection between Augusta student Laken Riley, and suspect Jose Antonio Ibarra, according to Fox News.
Ibarra, who police claim is not a United States citizen, has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another, according to UGA police chief Jeffrey Clark.
The police chief said that the evidence tying Ibarra to the crime stems from campus security footage, physical evidence, and comments from the community. Riley’s death is being treated as a homicide due to evidence of blunt force trauma, according to Clark.
“The evidence is robust,” Clark said in a press briefing Friday night. He added that while the investigation is still ongoing, there is no active threat to the community.
Investigators found Riley’s body at approximately 12:38 p.m. on Thursday near a lake on the UGA campus. Riley, a former UGA student who transferred to Augusta, had visible injuries and was not breathing at the time she was found. Authorities had been notified that she was missing on Thursday morning, after she failed to return from a run.
Not much is known about Ibarra, but UGA police said they believe he originally comes from Venezuela, and is not a student at UGA. However, he does live in Athens, Georgia. He also does not have an “extensive” criminal record, Clark said. Details on his immigration status is not known, but he is not a U.S. citizen.
Ibarra’s older brother, Diego Ibarra, was arrested Friday night and criminally charged with possessing a fake green card, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. His status was unveiled during the investigation into Riley’s death.
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Classes on the campuses of both universities were canceled Friday but will resume Monday. Riley transferred to Augusta in 2023, where she made the dean’s list in the fall semester.
“Not only was she a bright and dedicated student, but she had the distinct honor of making the Fall 2023 Dean’s List,” Augusta University said in a statement. “The College of Nursing will miss Laken’s spirit on campus, and our hearts go out to her family and friends. We know that she would have been a wonderful nurse, and her passing is a loss for the profession and the communities she would have graciously served.”
