Jose Ibarra, the illegal immigrant suspect accused of murdering Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February, was found guilty of brutal murder today.
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard found Ibarra guilty of 10 total counts, including one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, one count of kidnapping, one count of aggravated assault with intent to rape, one count of aggravated battery, one count of hindering a 911 call, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of being a “peeping Tom.”
Haggard sentenced Ibarra to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The trial, which put a spotlight on the illegal immigrant crisis crippling the United States, garnered national attention and galvanized the entire political world.
During March’s State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden addressed Riley’s murder, noting that Ibarra was an “illegal.”
“Laken Riley,” Biden said. “An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.”
Biden also held up a button with “Say her name, Laken Riley” written on it that Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene had handed to him earlier as he entered the chamber while saying to him, “Say her name,” in what become a GOP rallying cry.
After today’s verdict was handed down, Riley’s mother addressed the court in an emotional response.
“Your honor, on February 22nd of 2024, our family and friends were given a life sentence without a chance of parole. Jose Ibarra took no pity on my scared, panicked and struggling child,” Riley’s mom, Allyson Philips said in a victim impact statement on Wednesday.
“There is no end to the pain, suffering and loss that we have experienced or will continue to endure on that horrific day. My precious daughter was attacked, beaten and shown no mercy. She fought for her life and dignity and to save herself from being brutally raped. This sick, twisted and evil coward showed no regard for Laken or human life.”
“She shared her love for our Lord with others through her mission trips, working with elderly at the nursing homes and through her nursing career,” Philips said.
“Laken was an amazing friend, sister, niece, daughter and granddaughter. Anyone who knew her knew about her loving heart. Laken’s life was not the only life taken on that day that Jose Ibarra attacked her. The life of her family and friends was taken, too. None of us will ever be the same.”
Riley’s sister, Lauren, called Ibarra a “monster.”
“I am completely disgusted having to even look and be in the same room as him,” Lauren said. “That predator is inhumane and is the epitome of evil. I have no doubt in my mind that the monster sitting in this room with us today is the same monster that encountered my precious sister on February 22nd, 2024, where he proceeded to attack … murder and attempt to rape her. Jose Antonio Ibarra has completely and utterly ruined my life, and I can only hope and pray that he receives a sentence that ruins his.”
Prosecutors said Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela, attacked and killed Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, while she was jogging along trails near Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia campus in Athens the morning of Feb. 22.
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.
ICE previously confirmed to Fox News Digital that Jose Ibarra had been arrested by the New York Police Department a year after he entered the U.S. in August 2023 and was “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.”