Loud sobs echoed about the courtroom Friday where an undocumented migrant is on trial accused of murdering college student Laken Riley earlier this year.
Members of the gallery passed tissues between rows and covered their faces as prosecutors presented graphic body camera video, showing the moment a police officer found Riley’s body on February 22.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, the 26-year-old undocumented migrant charged with killing Riley, “went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus,” before encountering his victim, according to prosecutors.
Ibarra’s trial began nine months after the nursing student was killed while jogging at the University of Georgia in a case that developed into a lightning rod over crime and illegal immigration.
Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University’s Athens campus, went for a morning jog in a wooded area of the UGA campus. Ibarra struck Riley in the head with a rock multiple times and asphyxiated her, according to his indictment.
Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard will decide the fate of Ibarra, who is charged with murder and aggravated assault with intent to rape in connection with Riley’s death. Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial during a court hearing this week.
Anothermike
Article URL : https://www.yahoo.com/news/trial-begins-today-undocumented-migrant-104712518.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall