An illegal immigrant was arrested on Friday for the murder of a Georgia University (UGA) nursing student.
Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old student at the Augusta University College of Nursing, was reported missing by her roommate on Thursday around 2:15 p.m. after not returning home from her run, which was unusual.
She was found “not breathing” with “visible injuries” around 12:38 p.m. in a wooded area near Lake Herrick, according to police.
“A suspect in the murder of Laken Riley has been taken into custody by the University of Georgia Police Department,” the university police announced in a statement. “At this time, there are no indications of a continuing threat to the UGA campus related to this matter.”
The day after Riley’s body was found, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested and charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another, the University of Georgia police reported.
🔥NEW: It's bad enough we have these criminals in our country, but it's further insulting and only shows the nefarious intentions of the left agenda.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, the 26-year-old who was not an American citizen who took the life of 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley, is now… pic.twitter.com/sbp4EbNRjF
— 🇺🇸 Larry 🇺🇸 (@LarryDJonesJr) February 25, 2024
According to police, Ibarra is an illegal immigrant residing in Athens, Georgia, and did not know Riley.
“He did not know her at all,” UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark said Friday. “I think this is a crime of opportunity where he saw an individual and bad things happened.”
Ibarra is a Venezuelan citizen who illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, in September 2022. He was detained but released due to a lack of space in the detention center, according to DHS reports.
Months ago, Ibarra was also arrested in New York for endangering a child, NewsNation reported. He was also arrested in Athens three times last year between September and December, according to the New York Post.
Police also took Ibarra’s brother, 29-year-old Diego Ibarra, into custody. Officials reported that he had a fake green card when police questioned him about Riley’s murder. He was also temporarily employed at the university as a dishwasher.
Riley transferred from the University of Georgia to Augusta University’s nursing program after the 2023 spring semester.
This is the university’s first murder in 20 years.
Riley’s death follows a string of violent crimes committed by Venezuelan illegal immigrants across the country. Last week, four Venezuelan illegal aliens in Chicago violently robbed a man on the train.
