Five requests defense team has made in Laken Riley’s murder case

ATHENS — Attorneys defending Jose Ibarra have attempted to alter the case against him five times since his arrest.

Jose Ibarra faces 10 charges connected to Laken Riley’s murder Feb. 22.

Police arrested him the next day, accusing him of murdering the nursing student as she jogged on University of Georgia’s Campus.

In May, a grand jury indicted Ibarra, formally charging him with 10 crimes: Malice Murder, three counts of Felony Murder, Kidnapping, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery, Interfering with an Emergency Call and Peeping Tom.

That same month, he pleaded not guilty and Special Prosecutor Sheila Ross said she intends to seek a punishment of life in prison without parole.

In August, Ibarra’s defense attorneys filed a motion to change the trial’s location. They argued the case has grabbed so much attention, it would be impossible to pick an unbiased jury in Athens-Clarke County.

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Judge Patrick Haggard said since jury selection hasn’t started, there’s no way to know. He denied that request.

Also in August, Ibarra’s attorneys asked the court to try the Peeping Tom charge separately from the homicide case. They argued the peeping case involved another woman. Not Laken Riley.

Prosecutors filed a response that said that motion “ignores the inescapable fact that count ten is part of a continuous single scheme of this Defendant on the morning of February 22, 2024.”

That document said at 7:57 a.m., a UGA student called 911 to say she saw a man spying into her dorm window. She said he was at her front door, repeatedly trying to open it.

By the time police arrived, prosecutors said he’d disappeared into a wooded area that is connected to the running path Laken Riley was using. That’s where prosecutors argue Ibarra saw Riley, tried to sexually assault her, she fought back, and he killed her.

At 9:10 a.m., prosecutors response document says Riley called 911 for help and that call was disconnected. The document also states Riley’s mom tried to call and text her several times starting at 9:24 a.m.

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“Alarmed by her daughter’s lack of response, Laken Riley’s mother launched a search for Laken. Subsequently, Laken Riley’s roommates began to look for Laken on the running trails near the Intramural Fields, but were unable to locate her,” Special Prosecutor Sheila Ross wrote.

At 12:07 p.m., her roommates called 911 to report Laken missing. At 12:38 p.m., UGA police found Riley’s body.

Prosecutors argued the singular motive of sexual assault ties the crimes together.

On Oct. 28, Judge Haggard issued an order denying the motion to sever the Peeping Tom charge from the homicide case.

Nov. 1, Ibarra’s attorneys asked a judge to suppress cell phone evidence. They argued the phones were tampered with when investigators tried to put them in airplane mode to preserve data.

That same day, the defensed asked the judge to throw out fingerprint evidence collected during the investigation. They argue the science behind it is unreliable while prosecutors said it’s widely accepted.

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The fifth request made was a motion asking the judge to delay the trial by at least six weeks.

Defense attorneys said they need more time to research on the DNA testing tool used in the investigation called TrueAllele.

The judge denied the motion to change the trial date.

We expect the judge to issue a ruling on the cell phone and fingerprint evidence next week.

Jury selection begins Nov. 13.

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