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Justice was served on Wednesday when illegal migrant Jose Ibarra was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
In an Athens, Georgia, courtroom, Judge Patrick Haggard announced the guilty verdicts just 19 minutes after closing arguments were delivered. Then just two hours later, Haggard dealt Ibarra his fate.
Ibarra, who has ties to the Tren de Aragua gang, brutally murdered Riley on February 22 as she was going for a jog on campus at the University of Georgia.
When she never returned from her jog, Riley’s roommates called the campus police and began searching for her. Her body was found in a wooded area on campus the following day.
Just one day later, Ibarra was arrested and charged with murdering Riley. Ibarra illegally crossed the southern border near El Paso, Texas in 2022, and was released into the country by the Biden-Harris administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In July 2023, he was fingerprinted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a biometric appointment in New York City, which revealed his prior criminal history.
In September 2023, he was arrested after wrecking a vehicle with an unrestrained child inside. The arrest was later expunged, and Ibarra was not prosecuted.
Ibarra relocated to Georgia that month via a taxpayer-funded humanitarian flight and in December 2023, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved him for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD).
According to the New York Post, 29 witnesses were called by the prosecution during the trial. Ibarra was described as a “sick, twisted, and evil coward” in multiple victim impact statements from Riley’s friends and family before his sentencing.
Riley’s father Jason told the court, “The pain I feel is unexplainable every day I am reminded my daughter is gone … I will never hold her hand or feel her hug.” He continued, stating, “Our world has been torn apart. I am haunted by the fear she felt in those final moments. I hope justice is served for her.”
Her mom, Allyson Phillips, remarked, “Jose Ibarra took no pity on my scared, panicked and struggling child.”
“There is no end to the pain, suffering and loss,” told the court with a shaky voice. “On that horrific day, my precious daughter was attacked, beaten and shown no mercy.”
“She fought for her life in dignity, and to save herself from being brutally raped. This sick, twisted, and evil coward showed no regard for Laken and human life. We’re asking the same be done to him,” Riley’s mother said, raising her voice at times.
Riley’s murder drew national attention to the Biden-Harris induced border crisis, which allowed around 12 million illegal migrants to pour into the United States.