By Jerald Jimenez
Feb 25, 2024, 10:52 AM EST
An undocumented Hispanic man was formally charged with murder following the death of a Georgia nursing student, who was found dead in a wooded area of the University of Georgia campus.
The subject, identified as José Antonio Ibarra, 26, of Venezuelan nationality, faces several charges, including malicious homicide, kidnapping, aggravated assault and concealing the death of another person following the death of Laken Hope Riley, 22. .
During an initial court appearance Saturday, Ibarra was denied bond. He is currently being held in the Clarke County Jail.
University of Georgia Police Department Chief Jeffrey Clark said Riley went for a run on the school’s intramural fields Thursday morning, but did not return home. A friend of his reported him missing at noon.
University police officers found the woman’s remains behind a lake near the fields, unconscious and not breathing. She had visible injuries on her body, and her death was determined by blunt force trauma.
Three or four people were previously arrested because they matched the description of the suspect, but only Ibarra is involved in the crime, Clark explained. He also added that this was a solo act and there is no indication of an ongoing threat to the community.
“I think it was a crime of opportunity, where he saw an individual and bad things happened,” Clark said at a news conference Friday night.
The police chief thanked the community for its collaboration, which provided “key input” to the investigation, as well as physical evidence and video footage from campus security cameras, which helped identify Ibarra.
Riley was a junior at Augusta University School of Nursing, studying at its Athens campus. Previously, he attended the University of Georgia.
Meanwhile, the Justice Department reported Saturday that Ibarra’s brother, Diego Ibarra, was also arrested for presenting a false green card when approached by officers because of his resemblance to the suspect.
With information from ABC News