Judge rejects new-trial bid for man convicted of killing Laken Riley

A Georgia judge on Monday rejected a request for a new trial for Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan national convicted of murdering nursing student Laken Riley, whose death became a focal point in the national debate over immigration policy.

The ruling closes the post-conviction phase in Georgia state court, though a spokesperson for Ibarra’s attorneys said they intend to appeal.

Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who presided over the original trial, wrote in his order that the evidence of Ibarra’s guilt presented by prosecutors was “overwhelming and powerful.” Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial; Haggard found him guilty of murder and other charges during the November 2024 trial and sentenced him to life in prison.

Defense arguments

Ibarra’s attorneys argued that Haggard violated his constitutional rights by denying two pre-trial motions.

The first sought a delay to give a DNA expert six weeks to review evidence analyzed using TrueAllele Casework, software used to interpret DNA data and assist the defense. The second sought to exclude evidence from two cellphones seized from Ibarra’s apartment, which the defense said were not listed on the search warrant.

Haggard rejected both arguments. He wrote that Ibarra’s lawyers “effectively challenged the TrueAllele DNA evidence at trial” and concluded Ibarra was not harmed by the denial of a delay. The DNA expert testified during a January hearing on the motion, and the judge wrote that he did not find her opinion persuasive or credible and that it would not have changed the trial outcome.

On the cellphone issue, Haggard wrote that there were “exigent circumstances authorizing the seizure of the cellphones” and that the phones were not searched until after warrants were issued authorizing a search of their contents.

Background

Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus in Athens on Feb. 22, 2024, and killed her during a struggle. Riley was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which has a campus in Athens about 70 miles east of Atlanta.

Ibarra, 28, entered the United States illegally in 2022 and was allowed to remain in the country while he pursued his immigration case, according to prosecutors.