Trump Responds to Laken Riley Murder Conviction

Jose Antonio Ibarra has been found guilty of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

Ibarra, 26, is an illegal alien from Venezuela. He waived his right to a jury, leaving his fate in the hands of Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who sentenced Ibarra Wednesday to life in prison without parole.

Haggard found Ibarra guilty on all 10 counts, including felony murder and malice murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, kidnapping with bodily injury, obstructing a person making an emergency call, aggravated battery, tampering with evidence, and peeping Tom, Fox News and CNN reported.

President-elect Donald Trump celebrated the conviction.

“JUSTICE FOR LAKEN RILEY!” he posted on Truth Social. “The Illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found GUILTY on all counts for his horrific crimes.”

“Although the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for Justice, and to ensure that other families don’t have to go through what they have,” he added. “We love you, Laken, and our hearts will always be with you. It is time to secure our Border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our Country, so nothing like this can happen again!”

On the morning of Feb. 22, Riley left her home and went for a run along a wooded trail on the Athens campus of her alma mater, the University of Georgia, but never returned. The body of the Augusta University nursing student was found hours later, and authorities determined she had died from blunt force trauma and suffocation.   

“On Feb. 22, Jose Ibarra put on a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket, and some black, kitchen-style disposable gloves and he went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus,” prosecuting attorney Sheila Ross said in her opening statement. “And in his hunt, he encountered 22-year-old Laken Riley on her morning jog. And when Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly.”

Ibarra first crossed into America as an illegal immigrant in 2022, according to officials. Ibarra was arrested last year in New York on charges of child endangerment, but was released before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could ask local law enforcement to hold him.  

Ross, representing the state of Georgia, said Ibarra’s DNA was found under Riley’s fingernails and one of his fingerprints was found on her iPhone.  

During the four-day trial, the prosecution laid out a detailed timeline of the series of events leading up to Riley’s murder.

At 8:55 a.m. on the morning of her murder, Riley texted her mother, Allyson Phillips, “Good morning. About to go for a run if you’re free to talk,” according to testimony from Georgia Police Sgt. Sophie Raboud. Riley called her mother a few minutes later but Phillips did not answer and Riley put on music. A trail camera caught the nursing student running at 9:05 a.m., but she ran out of the camera’s view a minute later. At 9:11 a.m., Riley activated the 911 feature on her phone. Riley’s family and friends repeatedly sought to reach her through calls and text as the morning went on, but to no avail. 

“You’re making me nervous, not answering when you’re out running. Are you OK?” Riley’s mother texted at 9:58 a.m. 

Evidence revealed a struggle between Ibarra and the nursing student. Ibarra’s DNA was found under Riley’s fingernails when police found her body in the early afternoon that day. Authorities also said that Ibarra had scratches on his body when he was arrested the following day.

Shortly before the conviction was pronounced and the sentence handed down, Riley’s stepfather John Phillips stood before the court and read one of Riley’s final journal entries, written as a letter to her future husband.

“I want you to know that I am thinking about you and working everyday to become the best wife I can be,” the stepfather read, choking back tears. “I’m focusing on God and what He defines as a faithful Christian wife so that I can best embody those characteristics.”

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