A Georgia judge on Wednesday reached a verdict for and sentenced Jose Ibarra, the suspect accused of murdering Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February.
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard found Ibarra guilty of 10 total 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 911 call, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of being a “peeping Tom.” Ibarra pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Haggard then sentenced Ibarra to life without the possibility of parole after Riley’s family read victim impact statements aloud before the court on Wednesday afternoon. Ibarra showed no emotion as a translator repeated Haggard’s sentencing to him in Spanish.
“Your honor, on February 22nd of 2024, our family and friends were given a life sentence without a chance of parole. Jose Ibarra took no pity on my scared, panicked and struggling child,” Riley’s mom, Allyson Philips said in a victim impact statement on Wednesday. “There is no end to the pain, suffering and loss that we have experienced or will continue to endure on that horrific day. My precious daughter was attacked, beaten and shown no mercy. 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 or human life.”
Philips described her daughter a “smart, hardworking, kind, thoughtful, and most importantly, a child of God.” She “had a personal relationship with Jesus, and she loved being the hands and feet of his hands and feet in this world,” Philips said.
“She shared her love for our Lord with others through her mission trips, working with elderly at the nursing homes and through her nursing career,” Philips said. “Laken was an amazing friend, sister, niece, daughter and granddaughter. Anyone who knew her knew about her loving heart. Laken’s life was not the only life taken on that day that Jose Ibarra attacked her. The life of her family and friends was taken, too. None of us will ever be the same.”
John Philips, her stepfather, read Laken’s last journal entry from December 2023: “To my future husband, I want you to know that I’m thinking about you and working every day to become the best wife I can be … and focusing on God and what he defines as a faithful Christian wife, so that I can best embody those characteristics.”
Riley’s sister, Lauren, called Ibarra a “monster.”
“I am completely disgusted having to even look and be in the same room as him,” Lauren said. “That predator is inhumane and is the epitome of evil. I have no doubt in my mind that the monster sitting in this room with us today is the same monster that encountered my precious sister on February 22nd, 2024, where he proceeded to attack … murder and attempt to rape her. Jose Antonio Ibarra has completely and utterly ruined my life, and I can only hope and pray that he receives a sentence that ruins his.”
Witnesses testified that DNA matching Ibarra’s was found in Riley’s fingernails and on a jacket with Riley’s hair recovered from a dumpster near his apartment complex.
“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.”
During rebuttal on Wednesday, the prosecution played video footage of authorities interrogating Diego Ibarra the day after Riley’s murder, showing Diego identifying his brother in security camera footage throwing the jacket with Riley’s hair on it in a dumpster behind their apartment complex on the edge of UGA’s campus. Diego identified Jose based on his clothing, hat and bag.
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