A man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley while she was out for a run was found guilty Wednesday and sentenced to life without parole in a case that reignited the debate over immigration and crime. Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old undocumented migrant from Venezuela, was convicted on 10 charges, including murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and tampering with evidence, reports CNN. Athens-Clarke County Judge H. Patrick Haggard announced the verdict after hearing evidence from dozens of experts and law enforcement officers as well as both Ibarra and Riley’s roommates. The defense and prosecution agreed to a bench trial, in which the judge alone decides the case.
Riley, a student at Augusta University’s Athens campus, was found dead February 22 in a wooded area near a University of Georgia trail. She was struck in the head with a rock several times and asphyxiated. Her mother and sister described the heartbreaking impact of Riley’s death when they delivered victim impact statements before Haggard sentenced Ibarra. Over four days, prosecutors presented an array of digital and physical evidence, including DNA and and surveillance to connect Ibarra to Riley’s killing. The defense offered an alternate theory, saying one of Ibarra’s brothers was responsible for the killing. “Evidence that is subject to more than one interpretation is not proof beyond reasonable doubt,” said defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck in closing arguments Wednesday. Prosecutors said genetic testing of Riley’s fingernail clippings showed a link to the genetic profile of Ibarra. Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab scientist Ashley Hinkle testified that generally someone “either has to have some sort of scratching or contact with the inside of the nail” to get another person’s DNA under their fingernails.
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