Illegal immigrant charged in Laken Riley murder ‘fast-tracking’ to life in prison: attorney

Jose Ibarra, the suspect charged with murdering Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February, is “fast-tracking himself to life” in prison by choosing a bench trial over a jury trial, according to Georgia-based criminal defense attorney Philip Holloway.

Ibarra, 26, allegedly attacked and murdered Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, while she was jogging along highly frequented pedestrian trails on UGA’s campus on the morning of Feb. 22.

Holloway told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that he does not “understand the tactics” of Ibarra’s defense asking for a bench trial over a jury trial on Tuesday, which state prosecutors agreed to and Judge Patrick Haggard granted. Ibarra’s trial is now scheduled to begin on Friday instead of Monday, when a jury trial would have taken place.

“He’s fast-tracking himself to life without parole by doing this,” Holloway said. “It certainly will speed things up. … From a legal perspective, I don’t know why the defense would do this.”

LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT WANTS CERTAIN EVIDENCE SUPPRESSED WITH TRIAL DATE SET

Holloway added that by choosing a bench trial, Ibarra is giving away his “Hail Mary shot” at “getting a juror” to question his guilt. In other words, instead of having the possibility of a single juror questioning the evidence presented against Ibarra and resulting in a mistrial, the murder suspect has instead chosen to present evidence before a judge who will then decide his fate.

Holloway added that the “evidence of guilt is overwhelming” in Ibarra’s murder case. 

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Laken Riley was found dead near a lake on campus on Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)

“The evidentiary presentation is going to be much faster” with a bench trial, the criminal defense attorney said, and the prosecution and defense may even choose to forgo opening and closing statements like they would in a jury trial because it is not necessary in a bench trial.

Ibarra and his brothers, also in the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived in an apartment building on the edge of the on-campus park where Riley was running. Ibarra allegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of opportunity.”

Jose Ibarra appears in court for a pretrial evidence hearing in Athens, Ga., on Nov. 1, 2024. (Robin Rayne for Fox News Digital)

In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on counts of malice murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a person from making a 911 call, tampering with evidence and being a “peeping Tom.”

The peeping Tom charge stems from another Feb. 22 incident in which the suspect allegedly went to a residence on UGA’s campus in Athens and “peeped through” a window and “spied upon” a university staff member, according to the indictment.

Laken Riley was a nursing student at Augusta University. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)

Ibarra recently tried to have the “peeping Tom” charge removed from his case, but prosecutors argued that the two incidents are “inextricably intertwined,” and Haggard ultimately decided not to sever the charge. 

The judge is also permitting DNA and cellphone evidence that Ibarra’s defense wanted to suppress.

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This is a general view of the area where Laken Riley’s body was found near Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia’s campus in Athens on Feb. 24, 2024. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

The 26-year-old suspect is due back in court on Nov. 15 for his trial. Jury selection for his trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 13, before he requested a bench trial.

Ibarra illegally crossed into the United States through El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released into the U.S. via parole, ICE and DHS sources previously told Fox News. His older brother, Diego Ibarra, is charged with green card fraud and had ties to a known Venezuelan gang in the U.S. called Tren de Aragua, according to federal court documents.

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Diego Ibarra is shown posing with multiple handguns on his social media accounts, according to court filings. (Middle District of Georgia)

Riley’s death was frequently mentioned throughout the 2024 presidential election as Republicans and Democrats debated the implications of record illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border over the last four years.

Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are females allegedly killed by illegal immigrants over the past two years.