A suspect has been charged with murder in the death of an Augusta University College of Nursing student whose body was found on the University of Georgia campus.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, who is not a US citizen, has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, false imprisonment, kidnapping and other charges in the murder of 22-year-old Laken Riley, police announced at a press conference Friday night.
University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark said authorities believe it was a “solo act” by Mr Ibarra, and that the suspect and victim did not know each other.
“This was a crime of opportunity where he saw an individual, and bad things happened,” Chief Clark said.
Mr Ibarra is a Venezuelan national who crossed into the US at El Paso in September 2022, according to 13WMAZ .
Mr Ibarra’s brother Diego Ibarra was initially arrested on suspicion of killing Riley as he matched the suspect’s description.
Diego Ibarra was later charged with possession of a fake green card,
Riley’s cause of death has not been released.
Riley’s roommate called campus police after Riley went for a jog that morning at the university’s intramural fields and never returned. Her body was found a short time later in a wooded area.
She was unconscious and had “visible injuries” when officers found her, the University of Georgia Police Department said.
At the press conference, the police chief said Riley died of blunt force trauma.
Riley’s sister, Lauren Phillips, paid tribute to her in an Instagram post on Friday, calling her “the best sister and my built in best friend from the very first second.”
“This isn’t fair and I will never understand it but I know you are in heaven with the man you loved most right now,” Ms Phillips wrote.
“I’m not sure how I’m going to do this but it’s all going to be for you from now on. I cannot wait to give you the biggest hug someday. I will miss and love you forever Laken.”
Riley studied at the University of Georgia through the spring of 2023 before transferring to Augusta University’s College of Nursing, according to a statement from the University of Georgia.
Riley remained active in the sorority she joined at the University of Georgia, according to the Associated Press.
Students at the University of Georgia spoke of their shock at the random killing on Friday.
“It was kind of just surreal to think that we have friends in the sorority that she was in,” First-year business major Paige Soskel told the Associated Press.
“And just to think that it’s somebody that people we know actually know is just scary — that it could be anyone.”
Riley graduated in 2020 from River Ridge High School in Woodstock, a suburb northwest of Atlanta, where she ran cross country.
In a statement, Cherokee County schools Superintendent Brian Hightower said: “Our community and our world lost a shining light with the tragic passing of Laken.
“An outstanding scholar athlete, Laken inspired classmates and teachers with her love of learning and her kindness to all. We ask that the community please keep her family in their hearts.”
Augusta University said they are in a partnership with UGA, allowing students to participate in UGA campus activities.
Classes were cancelled on Friday at the university. They are expected to resume on Monday.
The arrest comes after a highly visible police investigation Friday that centered on an apartment complex just south of the wooded parkland where Riley’s body was found.
Riley’s death was the first homicide on campus in 20 years, Chief Clarke said.
A mobile command post was set up at the apartment complex and at one point, officers searched a dumpster at a gas station across the street. Police said surveillance footage led them to arresting Ibarra.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department joined the university police department in the investigation.
Associated Press contributed to this report
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