Jose Ibarra Asks For New Trial After Laken Riley Murder Conviction

December 4, 2024 James Meyers aggravated assault with intent to rape, Athens, bench trial, Crime, DEFENSE, Diego Ibarra, DNA, fingerprint, gang, Georgia, James Meyers, jose ibarra, Judge H. Patrick Haggard, Justice, kidnapping with bodily injury, Laken Riley, law, legal appeal, malice murder, murder, OAN Newsroom, peeping Tom, prosecution, Tren de Aragua, trial, University of Georgia, US, Venezuela 0


A memorial to Laken Riley at Lake Allyn Herrick on the campus of the University of Georgia on June 7, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. On February 22, 2024, Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was killed while she was jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Her body was found in Oconee Forest Park near the lake. The suspect, José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan, had reportedly entered the US illegally. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage / AFP) (Photo by ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)
A memorial to Laken Riley at Lake Allyn Herrick on the campus of the University of Georgia on June 7, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. On February 22, 2024, Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, was killed while she was jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Her body was found in Oconee Forest Park near the lake. The suspect, José Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan, had reportedly entered the US illegally. (Photo by ELIJAH NOUVELAGE/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff James Meyers
1:27 PM – Wednesday, December 4, 2024

The violent illegal migrant who murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has asked a judge for a new trial after being sentenced to life in prison last month for a heinous crime. 

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Lawyers for Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, submitted a two-page court filing Tuesday asking Judge H. Patrick Haggard to set aside the verdict and penalty he decided during the bench trial.

The filing alleges that the judge’s decision was “contrary to law” and “to the evidence” and the judge “committed other errors of law that necessitate a new trial.” 

Additionally, the court papers don’t elaborate further but do ask the judge to leave the door open for the defense to “review the facts and circumstances” at trial in order to potentially flesh the request out further at a later date.

Meanwhile, the motion for a new trial is a necessary first step for the defense team to take before they can file an appeal. 

On November 20th, Haggard convicted Ibarra of all 10 counts he faced, which included multiple counts of murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape and Peeping Tom charges.

During the four day trial, which featured 29 prosecution witnesses and just three defense witnesses, prosecutors argued that Ibarra, 26, brutally beat and asphyxiated Riley, 22, on February 22nd while she was out jogging near the University of Georgia campus in Athens. 

Furthermore, Riley fought for her life for an estimated 18 minutes against her killer, whom prosecutors said was planning to sexually assault her but she fought hard for her life to prevent it. 

Ibarra’s fingerprint was found on Riley’s phone and his DNA was under her fingernails, prosecutors say the evidence showed.

However, Ibarra’s lawyers said the fingerprint and DNA evidence analysis was unreliable and tried to pin the murder on Ibarra’s brother, Diego Ibarra, claiming Jose’s body didn’t match the one seen on surveillance footage. 

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