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Students, parents rattled after nursing student found dead on UGA campus; classes canceled

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Students, parents rattled after nursing student found dead on UGA campus; classes canceled


ATHENS, Ga. — UPDATE 2/23/2024: A woman found dead on the University of Georgia campus after she went for a jog has been identified as 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley, according to the Athens-Clarke County coroner.

Police announced Friday night they had issued arrest warrants for 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra, who is expected to be charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another. Here’s the latest on the investigation.

Police suspect foul play after a woman was found dead on the campus of the University of Georgia Thursday.

Just after noon on Thursday, UGA police received a call from someone asking officers to perform a welfare check on a friend who went for a run at the intramural fields in the morning and had not returned.

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Officers began searching the area and eventually found the woman dead behind Lake Herrick, which is a short distance away from the fields.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Athens-Clarke County Police are investigating this death in addition to university police.

UGA confirmed to ABC News that the victim was an undergraduate student until the spring of 2023. Augusta University confirmed the victim is a student at their College of Nursing campus in Athens. Her name has not been released.

Classes at UGA and the Augusta University College of Nursing have been canceled for tomorrow.

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“We have been fully briefed on this terrible situation. Foul play is suspected, and we are already receiving support from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Athens-Clarke County Police Department to investigate this crime,” UGA officials said.

Officials said in a news conference Thursday night that they are considering the woman’s death a crime and that they are still searching for a suspect.

“This is a tragic day and I want to offer my most sincerest condolences to the grieving family, friends, and campus partners,” UGA Police Chief Jeff Clark said. “We are going to leave no rock unturned during this investigation.”

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Channel 2′s Michael Doudna was live in Athens on WSB Tonight at 11 p.m. UGA police said the investigation is still ongoing as police are still trying to identify who murdered this young woman —in broad daylight — in a popular spot.

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“There has not been a homicide in the last 20 years here on campus,” said Clark.

According to police, the nursing student went for a run in the morning. When she didn’t come home, a friend called police.

“The individual was unconscious and not breathing and had visible injuries,” said Clark.

The death rattled both students and parents.

“That hits a little too close to home,” said Veronica Bennett.

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Bennett’s daughter is a UGA junior. She’s part of a group of mothers pushing for security improvements she says the university has rejected, such as blue safety lights, that go beyond the UGA safety app.

“As a parent, I get tired of that being UGA’s go-to. Oh, we have the safety app. Well, the safety app is not much of a deterrent,” said Bennett.

As for the case, police combed the scene into the night—looking for clues to try and find the person responsible.

“My investigators will be working on this case day and night. They will be looking at every security camera we have,”

NewsChopper 2 was over the scene Thursday afternoon, where crime scene tape was strung up in the woods and officers were roaming the woods.

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This is the second on-campus death at UGA in the past 24 hours. A student was found dead at Brumby Hall on Wednesday night.

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The student’s identity and cause of death have not been released.

Anyone with information potentially related to this death is asked to contact the UGA Police Department immediately at 706-542-2200.

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Augusta, GA

GameStop to close 16 Georgia locations, including 1 in Augusta

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GameStop to close 16 Georgia locations, including 1 in Augusta


AUGUSTA, Ga. — Video game retailer GameStop is reportedly closing 16 stores in Georgia, including one Augusta location, as part of its “comprehensive store portfolio optimization.”

The store in Augusta is located in the Southpointe Plaza at 3209 Deans Bridge Road.

The retailer announced in an SEC filing that it plans to close “a significant number of additional stores in fiscal 2025.”

While an official list is not available, emails sent to customers and notices sent to employees indicate 16 stores in Georgia are on the chopping block.

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All Georgia locations closing include:

  • North Point Mall, 1198 North Point Circle, Alpharetta
  • Lenox Square Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd. NE Suite 2027, Atlanta
  • Howell Mill, 1801 Howell Mill Rd. NW, Atlanta
  • Southpointe Plaza, 3209 Deans Bridge Rd., Augusta
  • Shops @ Main Street, 455 Cherokee Pl., Cartersville
  • Chamblee Village, 1841 Chamblee-Tucker Rd., Chamblee
  • Peachtree Mall, 3131 Manchester Expwy. #34B, Columbus
  • Cumming Marketplace, 1060 Market Place Blvd., Cumming
  • Dublin Commons, 2421 Hwy. 80 W, Dublin
  • Hartwell Station, 115 Walmart Dr., Hartwell
  • 4959 Bill Gardner Pkwy., Locust Grove
  • McDonough Square, 1144 Hwy. 20-81, McDonough
  • Pharrs Village, 1830 Scenic Hwy. N, Snellville
  • Stone Mountain Festival, 1825 Rockbridge Rd., Stone Mountain
  • Cofer Crossing, 4363 Lawrenceville Hwy., Tucker

GameStop’s board of directors recently approved $35 billion in performance-based stock options for CEO Ryan Cohen, should the company’s market cap hit $100 billion. The company’s market cap is $9.3 billion.



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Augusta, GA

Finding Solutions: Augusta nurse opens new end-of-life care facility

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Finding Solutions: Augusta nurse opens new end-of-life care facility


AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A hospice nurse is opening Augusta’s first inpatient hospice home, giving families a new option for end-of-life care.

Stacia Sirull, a hospice nurse, is opening the Augusta Inpatient Hospice Home. The facility will feature hummingbird decorations throughout.

“My sister passed away a couple of years ago. She died in a hospice house in Kentucky and loved humming birds. When I decided to do this I was like we are just going to put humming birds everywhere,” Sirull said.

Limited options for Augusta families

Augusta families facing end-of-life care currently have limited options. The new facility will serve as an alternative.

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“There are many times when I hear I don’t want to die at home. I don’t want leave here and leave the memory of this with my family and don’t want to stay here, or the other way around I don’t want my family member to die at home and have to remember that they were here in this house,” Sirull said.

Sirull said the facility gives people a comfortable option in a homey environment.

“Our slogan is your life, your journey, your choice. The reason we wrote it that way is because I want people to be able to make their own choice at the end of life and have those choices be respected,” she said.

Family shares experience

Krista Weigle’s mother was on hospice in Augusta in 2018. Weigle said her mother began needing more care than she and her sister could provide. Her sister lives in Statesboro, where there is an inpatient hospice home.

“We just felt so blessed to find that place and felt very comfortable with her being there and when she passed we knew we had done the right thing,” Weigle said.

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Facility details and community support

The Augusta Inpatient Hospice Home will have six rooms added to the existing building. Sirull said there will always be one bed available for someone who doesn’t have the finances or insurance to cover the stay.

“No one should die alone, no one should die without support in their last days and not just support, but compassionate support,” she said.

Sirull said the community can help by donating hospital beds, blankets, quilts, bedside tables, kitchen items including pots and pans, and personal care items including diapers, wipes and shampoo.

Weigle said she’s happy to know a place she once needed is coming to Augusta.

“My only worry is that it won’t be big enough and once word gets around and people see what need it fills, there will need to be more places like this,” she said.

The Augusta Inpatient Hospice Home is a nonprofit organization set to open May 1.

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Augusta, GA

FBI agents identify chemical used in Georgia acid attack

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FBI agents identify chemical used in Georgia acid attack


SAVANNAH, Ga. — The FBI agents have confirmed that they’ve identified the chemical used in a Georgia acid attack.

Just last month, Ashley Wasielewski was walking around Forsyth Park in Savannah when a man hiding in the shadows near Whitaker Street suddenly came out and attacked Wasielewski with an unknown chemical substance.

Despite the hardship she’s been through and that lies ahead, Ashley Wasielewski is smiling in a photo from her hospital bed.(Contributed)

Sources close to the investigation say that liquid melted through Wasielewski’s clothing and headphones and left her with severe burns.

On Friday, the FBI released that they now know what that substance was but are not releasing the name of the substance to the public at this time.

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FBI officials say that SLED assisted and did the testing on behalf of the the organization.

Agents are also following up on leads now that the substance has been identified.

Just days after the attack, more than $260,000 had been raised for Wasielewski, who was recovering at a burn center in Augusta.

One of Ashley’s friends, Kristen Oddi organized a GoFundMe to help pay for Wasielewski’s extensive medical care.



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