The University of Georgia was hit with the devastating loss of a nursing student, Laken Riley, last week. The entire university shut down, canceling classes and events to give students time to mourn the loss of their classmate. The murder of Laken Riley is said to be the first homicide at UGA in 30 years.
Her past classmates and friends reported that Riley was someone they loved and cared for deeply. In many Instagram posts and messages across other platforms, her friends and family mourn the loss of their friend. In a post from Riley’s roommate, she pays tribute to her friend’s life and expresses all the things she loved and will miss about her friend who was taken from her.
Riley was recently enrolled in Augusta University and was living on the Athens campus; she was studying to be a nurse. Laken Riley was only 22 when she was murdered on the campus of her university. After leaving for a run on Feb. 22, her concerned friend reported to the police that Riley had not returned. Her body was found just off the trail at 12:38 p.m. in a wooded area behind Lake Herrick. When she was found, she was “unconscious and not breathing,” according to police. It was determined that she was killed due to blunt-force trauma.
The suspected murderer is Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Ibarra has a history of arrests, including an arrest for entering the country illegally, but was released with permission to remain in the U.S. temporarily.
The attack on Riley is described as an “isolated attack” by authorities. Riley had no previous connections to Ibarra, and he attacked alone. As of now, Ibarra is in custody at Athens Clark County Jail without bail and has multiple charges, including malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and a few other charges.
The conflict with the case came when the suspected murderer’s history was brought to light. Ibarra came to the U.S. illegally, and this has many Americans upset. Many, including Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia, are blaming President Biden for the immigration policies that are in place. A message came from the white house from spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández, sending condolences to Riley’s family and saying, “People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
As the students in Athens mourn the loss of their classmate and friend, they continue to hold services and create memorials in honor of the soul taken too soon.
Donate to the Laken Riley memorial here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/laken-riley-memorial