Man convicted of murdering Laken Riley returning to court to ask for new trial
Lawyers for the Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley will be back in court on Friday asking a judge for a new trial in his case.
Jose Ibarra was found guilty on all counts in Riley's death and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 2024.
His post-conviction attorneys have filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that they believe Ibarra suffers from "congenital deficiency" that could make him "incapable of preparing a defense and standing trial."
"A criminal defendant must personally and intelligently participate in the waiver of the constitutional right to a trial by jury," attorneys James Luttrell and David Douds wrote, noting that Ibarra's trial attorney did not ask for a competency evaluation.
Prosecutors have countered that there were "no challenges or concerns" about Ibarra's competency before the trial began.
Last year, the judge that heard Ibarra's case ordered he undergo a mental evaluation with the assistance of a Spanish-language interpreter.
Friday's hearing will begin around 9:30 a.m. in Clarke County.
A shocking murder gets national attention
Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22 and killed her during a struggle. Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens.
During the trial, attorneys argued that Ibarra killed Riley because she refuse to let him rape her. Investigators said that he choked the student, hit her over the head with a rock to the point that her skull became disfigured, and pulled up her clothing.
Ibarra's DNA was found under Riley's fingernails and her DNA and Ibarra's were found on a jacket that police found in a trash bin in his apartment complex. A man seen in security footage throwing that jacket away was identified as Ibarra by his brother and another roommate, prosecutors said.
Surveillance video also showed a man wearing clothes that appeared to match those seen in a selfie Ibarra snapped on his phone earlier that morning, lingering outside the apartment of a female graduate student. That student told police someone tried to get in the front door while she was in the shower and peered through her window.
Riley's killing became part of the national debate about immigration during the 2024 presidential campaign. Ibarra had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay while he pursued his immigration case, federal immigration authorities said after his arrest.
When President Trump took office for his second term, the first bill he signed was named after the nursing student. Under Laken Riley Act, federal officials are required to detain any migrant arrested or charged with crimes like shoplifting or assaulting a police officer or crimes that injure or kill someone.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.