A Georgia Superior Court judge heard opening statements from attorneys on Friday in an ongoing bench trial over an illegal immigrant alleged to have killed Athens, Georgia, nursing student Laken Riley.
Suspect Jose Ibarra, from Venezuela, was 26 when he entered the country 18 months before the February 2024 killing of the 22-year-old at Augusta University.
He waived his right to a jury trial on Tuesday, which led to the bench trial before Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard on Friday.
Special prosecutor Sheila Ross presented the argument that the suspect hit Riley in the head and strangled her with the intent of sexual assault. Ross has asked for Ibarra to be sentenced to life without parole….