Jose Antonio Ibarra is charged with murder and other counts in the death of nursing student Laken Hope Riley on the campus of the University of Georgia.
He was booked into the Clarke County jail Friday and faces charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another in the Riley’s death, according to UGA police Chief Jeffrey Clark.
Riley was 22.
Ibarra is 26 and lives in Athens, but is not a U.S. citizen, Clark said. He has no known affiliation with the university. Investigators do not believe Ibarra knew Riley. They said Ibarra has a criminal history, but it does not include violence.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Sunday that he is from Venezuela and was arrested in 2022 after unlawfully entering the United States. Officials said he illegally crossed the border near El Paso, Texas and was paroled and released for further processing.
Ibarra remains in custody after being denied bond in a hearing on Saturday.
His residence was reported to be Cielo Azulyk apartment complex on South Milledge Avenue in Athens, where investigators were seen searching on Friday before Ibarra’s arrest was announced.
The apartments are south of the wooded area where Riley’s body was found on Thursday near a trail behind Lake Herrick on the UGA campus. The crime scene is part of Oconee Forest Park, adjacent to the Intramural Fields and recreation complex. Both are campus facilities.
