Laken Riley’s killer will spend the rest of his life in prison, a Georgia judge ruled Wednesday, after convicting him of murder, kidnapping and assault.
Police arrested 26-year-old Jose Ibarra for murder on February 23, a day after discovering the 22-year-old nursing student beaten to death behind the University of Georgia. She had gone missing after her morning run.
Riley’s brutal death became a rallying cry for immigration reform when authorities revealed Ibarra had no reason to be in America. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detained Ibarra for entering the country illegally in 2022 but released him to await immigration trial. Rumored to be a member of Tren de Aragua, a violent Venezuelan gang, Ibarra committed crimes in New York and Georgia before brutalizing Riley.
Brutal — there’s no better word to describe his actions. An autopsy confirmed Riley had been dragged into the woods and beaten to death with a rock. Heartrate data from the young woman’s smart watch indicates she fought her attacker for 18 minutes before succumbing to her injuries.
Ibarra’s DNA was found under Riley’s fingernails, corresponding to deep scratches observed on Ibarra’s arms, hands and neck. Investigators discovered his fingerprints on Riley’s phone and surveillance cameras captured him disposing of a jacket with Riley’s blood and hair on it.
After closing arguments, Judge Patrick Haggard found Ibarra guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, hindering a 911 call and tampering with evidence. Ibarra had waived his right to a trial by jury.
Haggard also hit Ibarra with a “Peeping Tom” charge for video evidence showing him trying to break into another student’s apartment just two hours before he attacked Riley.
The prosecution presented persuasive evidence that Ibarra murdered Riley. But trial testimony also revealed new ways authorities grossly enabled Ibarra’s criminal behavior.
Rosebeli Flores-Bello, one of Ibarra’s former roommates, testified that she and Ibarra had traveled from New York to Georgia with a free plane ticket courtesy of New York City — i.e., taxpayers.
NYC offers migrants free transportation to the destination of their choice through its “reticketing center.” Flores-Bello claimed she and Ibarra were granted one of these “humanitarian flights” in September 2023 — just one month after New York police charged Ibarra with reckless endangerment of a child.
When an illegal immigrant commits a criminal offense, police can “lodge a detainer,” or transfer custody of the offender to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. New York police should have lodged a detainer on Ibarra in August 2023. Instead, the city bought him a free plane ticket to the state where he would later commit murder.
New York officials didn’t publicly admit to “relocating” illegal immigrants with government money until a month after it bankrolled Ibarra, and only when a Politico exposé forced them to come clean. Additional digging by outlets like the New York Post revealed the city had been operating reticketing since spring 2022.
Since then, the New York City Mayor’s office claims NYC has provided more than 47,000 illegal immigrants with free transportation — more than 20% of the total number of illegal immigrants the city has hosted.
“Reticketing” fees cost the city $7.6 million in two years, one source told the Post in March. Eight months later, the program has likely cost taxpayers another $2.5 million.
Its unclear, however, exactly which taxpayers are footing the bill. The Post claims NYC uses its federal grants, totaling $156 million, to fund the program. Adams and other state officials do not specify what money pays for the tickets — only that illegal immigrants don’t pay.
Whether New Yorkers or all Americans footed the bill, New York city used hard earned money to transport a known criminal and gang member to a state where he murdered a 22-year-old girl. Now, taxpayers will pay for his life-long incarceration.
In this sad tale, elected leaders and law enforcement failed everyone except Jose Ibarra.
Additional Articles and Resources
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Illegal Immigrant to Appear in Court for Death of Texas Teen, Illustrates Violent Trend
Illegal Immigrant Arrested in Murder of Maryland Mom
Laken Riley Act Introduced in Senate
Talking to Your Kids About Illegal Immigration
Familial DNA Testing on the Southern Border Shouldn’t Have Ended
The Border Crisis and the Deafening Silence of Women’s Groups