Laken Riley murder: Officers testifying about Jose Ibarra's clothing on day 2
Laken Riley Murder Trial Day 2: Suspect's clothing
The murder trial of Jose Ibarra, the illegal immigrant accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley on the campus of the University of Georgia, continues in its second day. On Nov. 18, the prosecutors focused on the disposed clothing of the suspect that contained Riley's DNA and Ibarra's personal cellphone activity.
ATHENS, Ga. - WARNING: This is a murder trial. Graphic testimony, including videos and photos, may be heard and seen.
Testimony resumed Monday in the Athens courtroom where 26-year-old Jose Ibarra is on trial for the murder of Augusta nursing student Laken Riley. Prosecutors have argued that Ibarra "hunted for females" on UGA’s campus before attacking 22-year-old Laken Riley who had gone for a run on the campus.
A key focus of Monday morning’s testimony was evidence collected from Ibarra’s apartment and the questioning of his brother, Diego Ibarra. Police body camera footage presented in court showed Diego wearing a black Adidas baseball cap that prosecutors say matched one seen in surveillance footage of a man throwing a jacket into a dumpster. That jacket, investigators testified, contained Laken Riley’s DNA.
An FBI agent who analyzed data from cellphones seized at Jose Ibarra's apartment also testified that Jose had taken Snapchat selfies on the day Laken Riley was killed. The black hat seen in the photos appeared to match the one that the suspect from the dumpster was wearing. The dark hooded jacket Ibarra wore in the selfies appeared to match the outfit worn by a man caught on surveillance at the door of a UGA housing complex a few hours before the killing.
A female student who lived there told police she heard her doorknob jiggling and saw someone peeping through her window.
After the two brothers were caught and questioned, University of Georgia Police Officer Joshua Epps testified that he observed recent scratches on Jose Ibarra’s arms but none on Diego’s. Epps also noted dirt on Diego’s hat, which he said could have been transferred from Riley’s body.
When asked why his knuckles were red, Jose Ibarra allegedly told them it was because of the cold. Officials said he did not explain the scratches.
One of the Ibarra brothers' former roommate also took the stand Monday and testified how the two frequently shared clothing. He positively identified the man in one of the surveillance videos as Jose.
Flores Bello, another witness, also identified the man in the video by the dumpster as Jose Ibarra. She also said she had previously seen him wearing the dark hooded jacket and thought it was strange he was throwing it away.
Important things to know about Laken Riley's murder, Jose Ibarra trial
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard will be the one to rule on the case after Ibarra, an illegal immigrant, waived his right to a jury trial.
Friday was an emotional day in court as the state played body camera footage of the moment an officer discovered Laken Riley's body in a wooded area on UGA's campus.
"Her encounter with him was long. Her fight with him was fierce," special prosecutor Sheila Ross said during her opening statement on Friday.
Ross said that Ibarra "went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus" before killing Riley and leaving her body about 60 feet off a running trail.
Laken Riley
Riley's roommates called the police on the morning of Feb. 22, when she didn't return home from her morning run.
"She would run for a long time, but I knew she had class that day and I knew that she wasn't one to be late or off schedule," Connolly Huth, one of Riley's roommates, said.
In her opening statement, Ross laid out the evidence she plans to present, including home surveillance video in Ibarra's apartment complex that she said showed him throwing something in a recycling bin and something in the nearby bushes. Officers later found a jacket in the bin and black gloves in the bushes, both with Riley's DNA.
Another video from about 35 minutes later shows what appeared to be the same man wearing different clothes and walking toward a trash bin with a bag and then walking back empty-handed. That bin was emptied before police were able to search it.
She said Snapchat images Ibarra took that morning show him wearing the same clothes as the man in the video.
She also said the watch Riley was wearing showed her heart stopped 18 minutes after she encountered Ibarra.
"She fought for her life. She fought for her dignity," Ross said.
She previewed surveillance video that she claimed showed Ibarra peeping at another female student just hours before Riley's death.
Defense attorney Dustin Kirby called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing, but he said none of it proves that his client killed Riley.
"The evidence in this case is very good that Laken Riley was murdered. The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial," Kirby told the court.
Ibarra is charged with one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hindering an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence and being a peeping Tom.
Ibarra pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
The Source: This is an original report by FOX 5 Atlanta's Kim Leoffler. It contains references to previous reports by FOX 5 Atlanta on trial coverage. Additional reporting was provided by the Associated Press.