A Georgia judge on Wednesday sentenced a Venezuelan gang member to life in prison for the killing of nursing student Laken Riley, whose murder ignited a political firestorm over the Biden administration’s flimsy border policies that allowed dangerous migrants into the country illegally.
Judge H. Patrick Haggard sentenced Jose Ibarra, 26, to life without parole roughly an hour after finding him guilty on all 10 counts with which he was charged, including four counts of murder.
The prosecution and defense agreed to hold a bench trial, which means the judge rather than a jury determined Ibarra’s fate. District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez said her office opted not to pursue the death penalty in the case.
“She fought for her life and dignity and to save herself from being brutally raped. This sick, twisted and evil coward showed no regard for Laken and human life. We’re asking the same be done to him,” Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, said during her victim impact statement.
Ms. Phillips sobbed as the verdict was read aloud while Riley’s father, Jason Riley, fought back tears. Ibarra stared blankly while the ruling was announced.
Riley’s memory became a rallying cry for Donald Trump during his campaign for a return to the White House. The Republican candidate slammed the Biden administration’s poor vetting at the southern border and shoddy enforcement inside the country.
PHOTOS: Man convicted of murder in killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley
Ibarra crossed illegally into El Paso, Texas, in 2022. A year later, he was arrested on charges of child injury in New York City. Local authorities released Ibarra before Immigration and Customs Enforcement could issue a detainer for him.
He was charged with shoplifting in Athens, Georgia, last fall and had an active warrant for his arrest for skipping a court date when he killed Riley.
Trial testimony confirmed that Ibarra was a member of Tren de Aragua. The cutthroat Venezuelan gang has flooded major American cities and been linked to theft rings, human trafficking and violence against police.
“Justice for Laken Riley! The Illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found guilty on all counts for his horrific crimes,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social after the verdict. “Although the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for Justice, and to ensure that other families don’t have to go through what they have.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, said Democrats have “blood on their hands” for their “open border” policies. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, said Ibarra “should never have been allowed to enter our country, and he certainly should not have been allowed to stay after shamelessly breaking our laws.”
Prosecutor Sheila Ross’ closing argument revisited the most gruesome details of Ibarra’s attack on Riley in February. The 22-year-old was jogging on a wooded trail near the University of Georgia.
Ms. Ross said Ibarra “put huge holes in her head with a rock, and he did it more than once” and left wounds in her neck from intense strangling.
The prosecutor said Ibarra dragged Riley more than 60 feet off the trail and tore her underwear in an attempt to sexually assault her.
Ms. Ross acknowledged that linking Ibarra to the killing was partly a result of good fortune.
The prosecutor said Riley’s killer was wearing an Adidas hat when surveillance video caught him throwing a bloody jacket and gloves into a dumpster.
Police developed a lead after Ibarra’s brother, Diego, was seen wearing the same Adidas hat the next day.
Questioned by police, Ibarra behaved like a “monstrously guilty individual,” Ms. Ross said. He struggled to explain the scratches Riley left on his arm while fighting with him.
Defense attorneys said the evidence tying Ibarra to the killing was not strong enough. They said his fingernails weren’t tested for Riley’s DNA.
Judge Haggard ultimately sided with the prosecution and found Ibarra guilty of one count of malice murder; three counts of felony murder; and one count each of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, evidence tampering and being a peeping Tom.
Riley’s death was one of several high-profile incidents of violence involving migrants over the past couple of years that White House critics highlighted in the lead-up to Election Day.
Advocates of stricter border policies also cited the strangling of a 12-year-old Houston girl in June, allegedly at the hands of two Venezuelan men illegally in the U.S., and the rape and killing of a Maryland mother of five in Harford County last year.
Police say a member of the international gang MS-13 who entered the country illegally in 2023 was the killer in the Maryland case.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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