Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan national accused of killing Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February, will appear in court Tuesday ahead of his trial next week.
Ibarra, 26, is accused of attacking and killing Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, as she jogged along the pedestrian walkways on the UGA campus in the early hours of February 22.
Ibarra and his brothers, who were also in the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived in a building on the edge of the college park where Riley ran. Ibarra is accused of murdering a nurse candidate in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a “crime of opportunity.”
In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on counts of aggravated murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily harm, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, hindering or obstructing a person from calling 911, tampering with evidence and being a “peeping Tom.”
SUSPECT MURDERER LAKEN RILEY DEMANDS STRONG EVIDENCE PRESSED THROUGH DEATH DATE SET
Jose Ibarra appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing in Athens, Georgia on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Ibarra is charged in the death of University of Georgia student Laken Riley. (Robin Rayne of Fox News Digital)
Tom's spying case stems from another incident on February 22 when the suspect allegedly went to a living on the UGA campus in Athenswhen he “peered” through the window and “surveyed” a university employee, the lawsuit says.
Ibarra recently tried to have Tom's charge dismissed from his case, but prosecutors argued that the two incidents were “inextricably linked,” and an Athens-Clarke County judge ultimately decided not to dismiss the case.
LAKEN RILEY'S MURDER: SUSPECT IN GEORGIA COLLEGE LAWYER'S KILLING OF STUDENT ASKS TO HIDE SOME EVIDENCE
Laken Riley posts a photo posted on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a pool on campus Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)
The judge also allowed DNA and cell phone evidence that Ibarra's defense sought to suppress.
The suspect, 26, will appear in court again on Nov. 18. Jury selection in his case is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Nov. 13.
Jose Ibarra was arrested on Feb. 23 regarding the killing of Laken Riley on Feb. 22 in Athens, Georgia. (Clarke County Sheriff's Office)
Ibarra entered the United States illegally El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was released to the US on parole, ICE and DHS sources previously told Fox News.
His older brother, Diego Ibarra, is charged with green card fraud and had ties to a notorious US gang called Tren de Aragua, according to court documents.
A general view of the area where Laken Riley's body was found near Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Jose Antonio Ibarra charged with Riley's murder. (Mark Sims of Fox News Digital)
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Riley's death was frequently discussed throughout the 2024 presidential election as Republicans and Democrats debated the impact of illegal immigration crossing the US-Mexico border over the past four years.
Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are women who were allegedly killed by illegal immigrants in the past two years.
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