Opening statements were made on Friday in the trial of Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant accused of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley in February.
Ibarra, 26, waived his right to a jury trial and will instead leave his fate in the hands of a judge, CNN reported. Ibarra is charged with 10 counts, including murder, kidnapping, and aggravated assault with intent to rape Riley, who was found murdered after she went jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens.
“On Feb. 22, Jose Ibarra put on a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket, and some black kitchen-style disposable gloves, and he went hunting for females on the University of Georgia campus,” prosecutor Sheila Ross said in her opening statements on Friday, according to Fox News.
“When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her head in with a rock repeatedly,” Ross added.
Ibarra and his brothers, all illegally in the country from Venezuela, lived just half a mile from the park where Riley was running on…
