The bludgeoning death of a nursing student on the University of Georgia campus has led to multiple murder and assault accusations against Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan citizen.
Along with bringing 22-year-old Laken Riley to a remote location and murdering her, Ibarra is accused of illegally entering the US in 2022.
Police believe the crime was committed Thursday morning, between 9:00 and 1:00. Riley was discovered dead, her head severely disfigured, following a roommate’s report that she had gone for a run in the woods near the intramural fields on the campus that morning.
The White House expressed its sympathies to Riley’s family and directed inquiries on the matter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and local authorities.
According to the UGA police, Ibarra was not a student at the school and acted alone.
Months before the murder, on August 31, Ibarra was taken into custody by the New York police and faced charges of driver’s license violations and acting in a way that could cause harm to a minor. He was let go before ICE could request that New York authorities detain him until immigration officers could come for him.
No indication of a plea to the allegations against him can be found in the records. On Saturday, Ibarra made his court appearance and was officially charged with multiple crimes, including felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and kidnapping. He remained in detention while being defended by public defenders.
Republicans, such as Trump and Kemp, attacked President Joe Biden’s immigration policies in light of the murder.
Marjorie Taylor Greene said the man murdered a woman the same age as her children and added that he was an “illegal alien,” a politically incorrect term that she purposely used.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp stressed that the southern border crisis presents a clear and present danger to our citizens and communities.
