ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A man on Tuesday waived his right to a jury trial in the killing of a Georgia nursing student, a case that became a flashpoint in the national immigration debate.
Jose Ibarra was charged in the February killing of Laken Hope Riley, whose body was found on the University of Georgia campus. A 10-count indictment accused Ibarra of hitting the 22-year-old Augusta University College of Nursing student in the head, asphyxiating her and intending to sexually assault her.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge that Ibarra’s attorneys contacted her last week to say that he wanted to waive his right to a jury trial, meaning it would be heard only by the judge. Then Ibarra’s attorney Kaitlyn Beck presented the judge with a signed waiver.
After questioning Ibarra with the aid of a translator, Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard said he found that Ibarra had made the decision to waive a jury trial willingly.
Prosecutors had chosen not to seek the death penalty but said in a court filing that they intended to seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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