Judge Refuses Request for New Trial for Illegal Immigrant Who Killed Laken Riley

Rejecting the application, Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard said there was ‘overwhelming and powerful’ evidence of Jose Ibarra’s guilt.

The mother of Laken Riley, Allyson Phillips joins President Donald Trump during an Angel Families remembrance ceremony held in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 23, 2026. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

A judge has rejected a request for a new trial by lawyers for a Venezuelan illegal immigrant who murdered nursing student Laken Riley on a college campus in Georgia in 2024.

Jose Ibarra, 28, attacked Riley while she was jogging on a University of Georgia campus in Athens on Feb. 22, 2024, and killed her when she resisted his attempts to rape her.