The suspect charged in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student has been confirmed to be an illegal immigrant originally from Venezuela, Fox News Digital has learned.
José Antonio Ibarra, 26, the suspect charged with the murder of nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus, is a Venezuelan citizen who crossed illegally into El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released to the U.S. through parole, three ICE and DHS sources told Fox News.
ICE currently has no official comment on the situation.
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Ibarra was taken into custody by UGA police on Friday. He is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 170 pounds, according to the Clarke County Sheriff's Department booking sheet. Laken was 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed 115 pounds, according to a UGA Police Department report.
Police charged Ibarra with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another person, UGA Police Chief Jeffrey L. said. Clark, during a news conference Friday night.
Jose Ibarra, who was originally detained Friday by the UGA Police Department in connection with Riley's death, is now not believed to have had a connection to the victim. (Clarke County Sheriff's Office)
Ibarra appeared in court Saturday morning, where Clarke County Magistrate Judge Donarell Green denied his bond “for today.” There were two translators present, and Ibarra nodded when spoken to.
Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was found dead Thursday after previously attending UGA before entering a nursing program at Augusta's Athens campus, where she made the Dean's List.
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Police initially detained three or four people during the early stages of the investigation, but only arrested and charged Ibarra, Clark said.
Police asked anyone who saw anything “relevant or suspicious” between 7 a.m. and noon Thursday around UGA's intramural fields and Lake Herrick to call 706-542-2200.
Laken Riley poses for a photo posted on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a lake on campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)
There they found Riley, with “visible injuries,” 30 minutes after receiving a call from a concerned friend who told them she had gone out for a run and didn't return.
According to an incident report obtained by Fox News Digital, several officers began searching for Riley near Intramural Fields around 12:07 p.m. At 12:38, a UGA police officer saw her on the ground.
GEORGIA NURSING STUDENT FOUND DEAD ON UGA CAMPUS IDENTIFIED AS LAKEN RILEY
“I called Riley and got no answer,” the officer wrote.
He had visible injuries and police were unable to locate a pulse. They started CPR anyway. A sergeant arrived with a defibrillator minutes later and tried, unsuccessfully, to resuscitate the victim.
Laken Riley poses for a photo posted on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a lake on campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)
Autopsy results were still pending Friday, but authorities said they were investigating his death as a homicide. Clark said she looked as if she had been killed by blunt force trauma.
Classes and events at both universities were canceled Friday.
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Diego Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, allegedly gave a fake green card to police in the search for his brother Jose, who is accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. (Clarke County Sheriff's Office)
Yesterday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Ibarra's brother, Diego Ibarra, 29, with having a false/fraudulent green card.
This is breaking news.
