Laken Riley's mom confronts killer; Jose Ibarra sentenced to life in prison
The mother of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student murdered by an illegal immigrant earlier this year, wept as she begged the judge to sentence the killer to life in prison, asking that he not receive mercy when he showed none to her daughter or the family he destroyed.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to life in prison without parole for Riley’s murder Wednesday.
The verdict by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard marked the conclusion of a bench trial that began last week.
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Haggard sentenced Ibarra to the maximum possible punishments for multiple charges, including kidnapping, aggravated assault with intent to rape, obstruction of a 911 call, tampering with evidence and a peeping tom charge. The judge ordered that the defendant serve each sentence consecutively, according to CNN, condemning Ibarra to two life sentences and 27 years in prison.
In a victim statement read before the court Wednesday, Allyson Phillips called her daughter a “child of God” who demonstrated her love for the Lord through missionary work and caring for the elderly.
The mother declared that there has been no end to the pain she and her family have endured since Feb. 22, the day of her daughter’s murder.
Riley, a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, never returned home after she left that morning to go jogging around the University of Georgia campus. Prosecutors argued that Ibarra, who entered the country illegally in 2022, killed the young woman by bashing her skull and asphyxiating her after attempting to sexually assault her.
“On that horrific day, my precious daughter was attacked,” Riley’s mom stated. “Beaten and show no mercy. She fought for her life and dignity and to save herself from being brutally raped.”
“This sick, twisted, and evil coward showed no regard for Laken or human life,” she said, referring to Ibarra. “We are asking that the same be done to him.”
Phillips urged the judge to sentence Ibarra to life in prison without the possibility of parole, stating that this is the sentence Ibarra inflicted on her and the rest of Riley’s family on Feb. 22. The grieving mother wept as she noted that the defendant had robbed the family of its “hopes and dreams for Laken,” such as watching her graduate nursing school or become a mother.
“I'm asking you to please give Jose Ibarra the same thing he gave us when he made the choice to take Laken’s life and destroy ours,” Phillips cried. “He showed no mercy on Laken when she was begging for her life.”
“I'm asking you to please give this monster life without any chance of parole so that he never gets the chance to hurt anyone else ever again,” she added.
Ibarra’s attorneys argued that the prosecution’s evidence — traces of Riley’s DNA under the defendant’s fingernails and his thumbprint on her phone — was circumstantial, CBS News reported. The defense claimed that the defendant’s brother, Diego Ibarra, who worked at the University of Georgia dining hall, could have committed the crime.
During the bench trial, prosecutors highlighted additional pieces of evidence, including Riley’s smartwatch and iPhone. The location on Riley’s phone places her at the crime scene while the smartwatch tracked her slowing heart rate. Cell towers also picked up Ibarra’s phone near the area where Riley was killed.
John Phillips, Riley's stepfather, spoke before Ibarra’s sentencing on Wednesday, referring to Riley as a “shining beacon of light in the life of everyone that knew her.” The stepfather read one of Riley’s last journal entries, in which the young woman wrote a letter to her future husband.
“‘I pray that you know that it is with my full faith and trust in God that I know this relationship has been handcrafted by Him,’” Phillips read. "I pray that we continue to glorify the Lord, prioritize Him in every aspect of our lives, and raise our future family to be God-fearing Christians as well.’”
Riley’s stepdad offered the journal entry as an example of the kind of woman she was. He vowed to keep alive the hope she gave to her loved ones. While Phillips promised that Riley’s loved ones would carry this hope “in [Riley’s] name,” he asked the judge to prevent another tragedy like this one by sentencing Ibarra to life in prison.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: samantha.kamman@christianpost.com. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
