Laken Riley murder suspect asking to suppress evidence ahead of trial
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky unpacks a request from the illegal immigrant suspected of killing Laken Riley to suppress some evidence ahead of his trial.
Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan illegal immigrant charged in Laken Riley's February murder, is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a hearing to argue that certain evidence, including cellphone data and DNA, should not be allowed in his trial.
Ibarra's defense previously filed motions to suppress evidence from cellphones, which his attorneys say was obtained illegally by law enforcement, and testimony from a witness who performed DNA testing during Riley's autopsy, alleging that the results "did not exclude Defendant, but also did not exclude another known individual associated with the case."
The hearing will take place about two weeks before Ibarra's trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 18 in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.
Ibarra, 26, is accused of attacking and killing Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University, while she was out for a run along dirt trails on the University of Georgia's campus in Athens on the morning of Feb. 22.
Jose Ibarra appears in court for a status hearing in the Laken Riley murder case. (WAGA)
In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on counts of malice murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a person from making a 911 call, tampering with evidence and being a "peeping Tom."
The peeping Tom charge stems from another Feb. 22 incident during which the suspect allegedly went to a residence on UGA's campus, where he "peeped through" a window and "spied upon" a university staff member, the indictment alleges.
SUSPECT IN LAKEN RILEY'S MURDER IS INDICTED
Laken Riley smiles for a photo while running. Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus Feb. 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Instagram)
Ibarra tried to have the "peeping Tom" charge removed from his case, but prosecutors argue that the two incidents are "inextricably intertwined."
READ THE ORDER DENYING IBARRA'S MOTION TO SEVER. MOBILE USERS CLICK HERE.
"Count 10 allegedly occurred the same morning as Ms. Riley was murdered, and the alleged crimes occurred within 300 yards of each other. … Defendant's alleged crimes are inextricably intertwined, as he allegedly went to one apartment complex, failed to enter the woman's apartment, and then went to a nearby wooded area where students are often found jogging or exercising," prosecutors wrote in a court document filed Oct. 28.
LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT JOSE IBARRA PLEADS NOT GUILTY, MOTHER SOBS IN COURT
Jose Ibarra was arrested Feb. 23 in Laken Riley's Feb. 22 murder in Athens, Ga. (Clarke County Sheriff's Office)
The court ultimately ordered the peeping Tom charge not be severed from his case.
LAKEN RILEY'S FATHER SAYS SUSPECT ‘MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN HERE’ IF BORDER WAS SECURE
Ibarra and his brothers, also in the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived in an apartment building that sits on the edge of the on-campus park where Riley was running. Ibarra llegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a "crime of opportunity."
Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus Feb. 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)
The quiet, wooded loop Riley ran that morning is easily accessible from behind Ibarra’s apartment complex. It is a five-minute walk from Ibarra’s door to the approximate location where Riley was found dead.
The 26-year-old suspect 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.
His older brother, Diego Ibarra, is charged with green card fraud and had ties to a known Venezuelan gang in the U.S. called Tren de Aragua, according to federal court documents.
Illegal immigrants cannot legally own guns in the U.S., according to federal prosecutors. However, Homeland Security Investigations officers found Diego Ibarra posing with multiple handguns on his social media accounts, according to court filings. (Middle District of Georgia)
Riley's death has frequently been mentioned throughout the 2024 presidential election as Republicans and Democrats debate the implications of illegal immigration over the last four years.
Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are femailes allegedly killed by illegal immigrants over the past two years.
Former President Clinton recently brought up Riley's murder during a campaign visit to Georgia on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn.
Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus Feb. 22. An illegal immigrant has been charged with her murder. (Laken Riley/Facebook)
"[Harris is] the only candidate who has actually endorsed a bill that would hold down immigration any given year to a certain point and then made sure we gave people a decent place to live, didn't divide people from their children. And we did total vetting before people got in. Now, Trump killed the bill," Clinton said during the campaign stop.Â
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPÂ
"You had a case in Georgia not very long ago, didn't you? They made an ad about it. A young woman who had been killed by an immigrant. Yeah, well, if they'd all been properly vetted that probably wouldn't have happened," the former president said.
Republicans have argued that Democratic immigration policies under the Biden-Harris administration led a record 7.2 million illegal immigrants arriving in the country over four years, a number greater than the population of 36 states.Â
