{"id":107811,"date":"2024-11-12T18:03:30","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T18:03:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/suspect-accused-of-killing-laken-riley-waives-jury-in-murder-trial\/"},"modified":"2024-11-12T18:03:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T18:03:30","slug":"suspect-accused-of-killing-laken-riley-waives-jury-in-murder-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/suspect-accused-of-killing-laken-riley-waives-jury-in-murder-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Suspect accused of killing Laken Riley waives jury in murder trial"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Courtesy of Augusta University<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(ATHENS, Ga.) — The suspect\u00a0accused of killing<\/a>\u00a022-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia’s campus has waived his right to a jury trial.<\/p>\n

The judge granted the defense’s motion for a bench trial for the suspect, Jose Ibarra, during a hearing in Athens-Clarke County on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The bench trial is scheduled to begin on Friday before Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who will render a verdict in the case.<\/p>\n

Jury selection had been scheduled to start in the case on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

When asked by Haggard if he understood the waiver of jury trial, and if it was “freely, knowingly and intelligently signed and considered,” Ibarra said yes.<\/p>\n

The defense also said they agree with their client’s decision to waive a jury trial, and confirmed that the form had been translated appropriately into Spanish by a court interpreter for Ibarra.<\/p>\n

Last month, Haggard denied the defense’s motion for a\u00a0change of venue<\/a>\u00a0in the high-profile case.<\/p>\n

Ibarra, 26, was\u00a0indicted by an Athens Clarke County grand jury<\/a>\u00a0on malice murder and felony murder and other offenses in May. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.<\/p>\n

Riley, a student at Augusta University, was found dead in a wooded area on the Athens campus on Feb. 22 after she didn’t return from a run. The indictment alleges Ibarra killed her by “inflicting blunt force trauma to her head and by asphyxiating her” and seriously disfigured her head by striking her “multiple times” with a rock.<\/p>\n

Additional charges in the 10-count indictment include aggravated battery, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call and tampering with evidence. The latter charge alleged that he “knowingly concealed” evidence — a jacket and gloves — involving the offense of malice murder.<\/p>\n

He was also charged with a peeping tom offense. The indictment alleges that on the same day as Riley’s murder, he spied through the window of a different person who lived in an apartment on campus. The judge last month also denied a motion seeking to sever that charge from the case.<\/p>\n

Ibarra was denied bond following his arrest on Feb. 23 and is being held at the Clarke County Jail.<\/p>\n

Police have said they do not believe Ibarra — a migrant from Venezuela who officials said illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 — knew Riley and that this was a “crime of opportunity.” Her death has become a\u00a0rallying cry<\/a>\u00a0for immigration reform from many conservatives, including now President-elect Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Courtesy of Augusta University (ATHENS, Ga.) — The suspect\u00a0accused of killing\u00a022-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia’s campus has waived his right to a jury trial. The judge granted the defense’s motion for a bench trial for the suspect, Jose Ibarra, during a hearing in Athens-Clarke CountyRead More →<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,31,2],"tags":[273,271,276,274,270,123,275,133,124,272,102,103],"yoast_head":"\nSuspect accused of killing Laken Riley waives jury in murder trial - FM News Talk 92.7 \/ 1450AM KOBE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TALK, DONE RIGHT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/newstalklc\/suspect-accused-of-killing-laken-riley-waives-jury-in-murder-trial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Suspect accused of killing Laken Riley waives jury in murder trial - 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