A memorial to Laken Riley at Lake Allyn Herrick on the campus of the University of Georgia on June 7, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. On February 22, 2024, Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was killed while she was jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Her body was found in Oconee Forest Park near the lake. The suspect, José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan, had reportedly entered the US illegally. (Elijah Nouvelage – AFP / Getty Images)
By Randy DeSoto November 18, 2024 at 1:54pm
Laken Riley’s mother was seen sobbing and left the courtroom before bodycam footage of police discovering her daughter’s body was shown in a Georgia courtroom.
The murder trial began Friday for illegal immigrant Venezuelan Jose Ibarra — allegedly stone-faced throughout it all — in Athens, Georgia.
Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University College of Nursing, had gone a run on the University of Georgia’s campus when Ibarra allegedly attacked her on February 22.
“When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly,” prosecutor Sheila Ross told Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, according to CBS News.
I don’t want to hear how dangerous Trumps appointments are from those people who have been silent about the results of Bidens..Laken Riley’s mom Allyson Phillips is seen sobbing in court while 911 calls are played. pic.twitter.com/glL5bKp8Wn
— Dead Che (@dead_che) November 15, 2024
Before Ross played footage from Athens-Clarke County police sergeant Kenneth Maxwell, who found Riley’s body, Allyson Phillips, Riley’s mother, left the courtroom.
Haggard had invited people to do so, warning the images would be graphic. Maxwell nodded in agreement.
WARNING: The following video contains language that some viewers may find offensive.
Body cam footage is played as evidence in court from the officer that found Laken Riley’s body after being brutally murdered by an illegal alien
The judge allows anyone in the courtroom that may be disturbed to leave the courtroom before it is played pic.twitter.com/teWGL6k0zT
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) November 15, 2024
Police had been alerted to Riley’s location from her cell phone after she made a 911 call at 9:11 a.m. on February 22. The dispatcher answered, but no one responded. The dispatcher then called back, but no one picked up.
Maxwell’s bodycam begins with the the sound of him stepping on leaves off the running trail looking for Riley’s body.
He then comes upon it.
“Ah s***,” the officer says, “I found it.”
“I found her! Ma’am, ma’am. Ma’am. I need EMS immediately. It’s at the location where the cell pinged. Ma’am, ma’am, ma’am. She’s down, she’s not breathing!” Maxwell said.
The officer performed CPR trying to revive Riley.
He observed that there had been blunt force trauma to the head.
The officer also noted her shirt had been removed above her breasts and her running tights had been pulled down and her underwear was bunched up toward the top.
Riley’s murder became a 2024 presidential campaign issue, with President-elect Donald Trump and other Republicans blaming President Joe Biden’s lax border policies for her death.
WATCH: At the border, Trump says he has spoken to the parents of Laken Riley, who was bludgeoned to death by an illegal alien
“Joe Biden will never say Laken Riley’s name, but we will say it.” pic.twitter.com/pHlsvwL2Wy
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 29, 2024
Ibarra illegally crossed the southern border into the U.S. in September 2022 at El Paso, Texas.
Randy DeSoto has written more than 3,000 articles for The Western Journal since he began with the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book “We Hold These Truths” and screenwriter of the political documentary “I Want Your Money.”
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean’s list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith
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