Judge Denies New Trial for Venezuelan Man in Georgia Nursing Student Murder

A Georgia judge has turned down a request for a new trial for Jose Ibarra, who was convicted of murdering nursing student Laken Riley in February 2024. The case sparked national immigration debate after Ibarra, who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, killed Riley while she was jogging on the University of Georgia campus.

ATLANTA — A Georgia judge has turned down a bid for a new trial for Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan immigrant found guilty of murdering nursing student Laken Riley in a case that ignited nationwide immigration discussions.

Defense lawyers claimed Ibarra’s constitutional protections were breached when the court denied two pre-trial requests. The first sought additional time for an expert to examine DNA evidence, while the second aimed to block certain cellphone data from being presented.

Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who oversaw the proceedings, stated in Monday’s ruling that the prosecution’s evidence against Ibarra was “overwhelming and powerful.” Following Ibarra’s decision to forgo a jury trial, Haggard convicted him of murder and additional charges in November 2024, imposing a life sentence.

Defense counsel have not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the judge’s rejection of their new trial motion. Ibarra has a 30-day window to file an appeal notice.

The 28-year-old defendant crossed into the United States without authorization in 2022 and was permitted to remain while his immigration proceedings continued.

According to prosecutors, Ibarra came across Riley during her morning run at the University of Georgia campus in Athens on February 22, 2024, and fatally attacked her in an altercation. Riley was enrolled at Augusta University College of Nursing, which operates a satellite campus in Athens, approximately 70 miles east of Atlanta.

Defense attorneys had requested a trial postponement after their DNA specialist indicated she required six weeks to examine evidence processed through TrueAllele Casework, specialized software for DNA analysis. In Monday’s decision, Judge Haggard noted that Ibarra’s legal team “effectively challenged the TrueAllele DNA evidence at trial” and determined that rejecting the delay request caused no harm to the defendant.

The DNA specialist provided testimony at a January hearing regarding the new trial motion, but the judge stated he found her testimony neither convincing nor reliable, and that it would not have altered the trial’s result.

Defense lawyers also contested the confiscation of two mobile phones from Ibarra’s residence, claiming they weren’t specified in the search warrant, and tried to suppress evidence obtained from the devices. Haggard ruled there were “exigent circumstances authorizing the seizure of the cellphones” and noted the phones remained unsearched until proper warrants were secured for examining their contents.