Jose Ibarra sentenced to life in prison after he was found guilty of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley

by: Hannah Nightingale
2024-11-20
Source: The Post Millennial
11/20/2024

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Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, has been found guilty of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. He was sentenced on Wednesday afternoon to life in prison without parole.

Ibarra, 26, chose not to testify on his own behalf, NewsNation reported. Ibarra was charged with one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hindering an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence, and being a "peeping Tom," CBS News reported. Ibarra was found guilty on all charges.

Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Ibarra without the possibility of parole. Athens District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez said in February that her office would not seek the death penalty for Ibarra and the office would "take into account collateral consequences to undocumented defendants."