Exclusive: Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia, was found dead by police on Thursday after she failed to return from a morning jog. According to her friend and ex-lover, she is an avid runner and has dedicated her life to helping others by becoming a nurse. Roommate.
Bianca Tiller, 21, told Fox News Digital that she lived with Riley when she was a freshman at the University of Georgia.
Tiller said Riley rarely missed a morning workout and tracked his route on his Apple Watch.
University of Georgia police question ‘person of interest’ in Laken Riley murder case
Laken Riley and Bianca Tiller, friends and former roommates who met at the University of Georgia, pose in an undated photo. (Courtesy of Bianca Tiller)
When she didn’t return from her morning run Thursday, another friend became concerned and called UGA police around noon. Within about 30 minutes, campus police found her near where she had been jogging on campus grounds with “visible injuries to her.”
They began investigating the murder and were questioning a person of interest 24 hours later. By Friday evening, UGA police announced murder charges against 26-year-old suspect Jose Antonio Ybarra, who has unknown ties to the victim and is not a U.S. citizen.
UGA Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark called it a “crime of opportunity.” Riley was known for regularly going on morning runs.
“Even when we were freshmen, she was running every day,” Tiller said. “She never went a day without running. And if she missed a day of running, which is very rare, she would be very hard on herself about it. .”
Bianca Tiller (right) says Laken Riley wanted to be a nurse even before they met in college, but he rarely missed his morning run. (Courtesy of Bianca Tiller)
Georgia nursing student found dead on Uga campus, identified as Laken Riley
“What I really want to say is that she was such a wonderful person and I can’t imagine anyone would do such a horrible thing to her.”
Those runs often followed the trail along Herrick Lake where Riley’s body was found, Tiller said.
A former UGA student said he considers the area safe and is popular among students and local residents.
Flowers are placed under the Herrick Lake sign. This is where Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student, was found dead Thursday after failing to return home from her morning run. (Audrey Conklin/Fox News Digital)
“The first thing that really shocked me was that it was during the day or in the morning. It wasn’t like she was running at night,” Tiller said. “For something like this to happen in such a densely populated area, on a warm day in the middle of the day when you would expect so many people to be outside, was really shocking and completely incomprehensible.”
“For something like this to happen in such a densely populated area, on a warm day in the middle of the day when you would expect so many people to be outside, was really shocking and completely incomprehensible.”
Laken Riley poses for a photo to post on Facebook. Riley, a Georgia nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Facebook)
Ms. Riley didn’t have any enemies or jealous ex-boyfriends that Ms. Tiller knew of, but Mr. Tiller noted that she graduated last spring and hasn’t been in Athens since.
“She’s always there for everyone,” Tiller said. “And she really brought everyone together and bonded friendships. I met a lot of people through her, and she was just the sweetest person. There’s nothing terrible or even a little bad about her. No one said anything.”
After three years at the University of Georgia, Riley enrolled in the nursing program at Augusta University’s Athens campus, which is close to UGA.
Laken Riley poses for a photo to post on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student from Georgia, was found dead near a lake on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Alison Phillips/Facebook)
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“She always wanted [to be a nurse] “She studied biology for a really long time, when she was at UGA,” Tiller said.
Laken Riley smiled and posed for photos as he ran. Riley, a Georgia nursing student, was found dead near a lake on the University of Georgia campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Laken Riley/Instagram)
Before starting college, Riley worked at a nursing home and often talked about her experiences there, Tiller said.
“She really loved helping people, no matter how little the pay or how difficult the job was,” Tiller said.
