Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan migrant suspected in the murder of nursing student Laken Riley was indicted Wednesday on 10 charges, including a new charge he allegedly assaulted her during an attempted rape in the February attack.
Riley's murder on the campus of the University of Georgia became a national flashpoint over the issue of illegal immigration.
Ibarra, 26, who entered the United States illegally in 2022 near El Paso, Texas, was indicted on three counts of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault with intent to rape, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and tampering with evidence, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The rape-related charges were not included in the initial allegations against Ibarra, who reportedly was living in an apartment located less than a mile from the University of Georgia campus. Ibarra had previously been charged with shoplifting but failed to appear in court.
In another new accusation, Ibarra is accused of a "peeping Tom" allegation he had been spying on a UGA staff member through the woman's window from an on-campus apartment Feb. 22, the same day Riley, 22, was murdered.
The nursing student was found beaten to death on the university campus after having gone for a run.
The charges against Ibarra reflect multiple indictments, as he is being charged with one count of felony murder for each of the underlying felony charges that allegedly cause the death of a victim.
Malice murder, meanwhile, is an additional charge made when someone is accused of intentionally causing another person's death.
The underlying felonies in the Riley murder include kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and aggravated battery, accusations that also brought separate charges.
The indictment stated that Ibarra allegedly attempted to rape Riley before asphyxiating her and "striking her head multiple times with a rock."
Ibarra was also charged with tampering with evidence by allegedly hiding gloves and a jacket to avoid arrest.
He remains in custody in the Clarke County, Georgia, jail and has not yet entered a plea to any of the charges.
Two of Ibarra's brothers, who face criminal charges that were not related to Riley's killing, also came into the United States illegally, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Meanwhile, Riley's father, Jason Riley, told NBC News in March he was angry his daughter's murder had been politicized because of Ibarra's immigration status to "get those votes."
"I feel like, you know, they're just using my daughter's name for that and she was much better than that, and she should be raised up for the person that she is," he said. "She was an angel … if everybody could live like Laken, it would make the world a better place."
Laken Riley's parents are divorced. Her mother and other family and friends joined Donald Trump at a Rome, Georgia, campaign rally, where Trump denounced President Joe Biden calling her Lincoln Riley in the State of the Union address earlier that week and apologizing for calling her accused killer an "illegal."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.