A Georgia nursing student was killed after she went out for a run Thursday morning.
Laken Hope RIley, 22, was a nursing student at the Athens Campus of Augusta University. She left for a run Thursday morning but was reported missing a few hours later by a friend who told police she did not return.
Police immediately began a search and found her body on the University of Georgia campus in a wooded area near Lake Herrick, a popular spot for runners and walkers. The officers could not locate a pulse but began CPR anyway. Shortly after, a sergeant arrived with a defibrillator and unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate the victim.
Medical responders attending to the situation declared that she had passed away before the officers located her. University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark stated that the cause of death was blunt force trauma, but did not provide further details.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was taken into custody by UGA Police on Friday. He is being held on charges that include malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and hindering a 911 call.
According to the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department booking sheet, he is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 170 points. Laken Riley measured 5 feet 3 inches and weighed 115 pounds.
ICE and DHS sources told Fox News that Ibarra is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who crossed illegally into El Paso, Texas in September 2022 and was released.
He had been arrested in September 2023 in New York City for injuring a child under the age of 17, but was released from jail without being turned over to ICE due to the city’s sanctuary policies.
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The suspect’s brother, Diego Jose Ibarra, 29, was also arrested by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office and faces up to 10 years in prison. He was charged with presenting a fraudulent ID for using a fake green card to get a job as a dishwasher in a dining hall at the University of Georgia.
He was arrested in September 2023 for drunk driving and driving without a license. He was arrested again in October for shoplifting and in December for failing to appear in court.
