A judge in Athens, Georgia, Wednesday reached a verdict for Jose Ibarra, the illegal alien accused of murdering Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February.
Despite pleading not guilty, the suspect was found guilty of all 10 counts, including one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, one count of kidnapping, one count of aggravated assault with intent to rape, one count of aggravated battery, one count of hindering a 9-1-1 emergency call, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of being a peeping Tom.
WATCH: Illegal alien Jose Ibarra found guilty on all 10 counts in murder of #LakenRiley pic.twitter.com/cUUe9TIi4M
— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) November 20, 2024
Crying from Riley’s friends and family could be heard during the announcement of the verdict by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.
“Laken Riley herself has given you all the evidence you need alone to find this man guilty of every single count in this indictment,” prosecutor Sheila Ross said Wednesday in her closing statement. “She did fight, and it is a direct result of that fight that gives you all the physical evidence you need to convict him.”
“He killed her because she would not let him rape her.”
DNA evidence was in important pat of the trial, as witnesses testified DNA matching Ibarra’s was found in the young woman’s fingernails and on a jacket with Riley’s hair retrieved from a dumpster near his apartment.
“In order to find this defendant not guilty of killing Laken Riley, you would have to disbelieve DNA,” Ross said. “You would have to disbelieve fingerprint evidence.”
“That predator is inhuman and the epitome of evil,” Laken’s sister said. “Jose Antonio Ibarra has completely and utterly ruined my life.”
The judge sentenced Ibarra to the maximum penalty, life in prison without the possibility of parole.
