The Venezuelan immigrant charged with killing Laken Riley allegedly beat her so brutally with an unidentified object that it caused damage to her skull, according to a new affidavit.
Jose Antonio Ybarra, 26, who is charged with multiple murders and assaults, is accused of kidnapping and killing the 22-year-old nurse as she ran on the University of Georgia campus on Thursday. It is believed that he did not know the student.
The cause of her death was listed as blunt force trauma, and the new indictment accuses Ybarra of causing “great bodily harm by an object,” although it is unclear what exactly it was. It has not been done.
However, the suspect was also charged with an aggravated felony for “substantially disfiguring her body by disfiguring her skull.” Affidavit shared by Fox News.
Ybarra is also charged with obstructing Riley from “making or completing a 911 call” with “intent to cause harm” when she allegedly snatched him while fleeing, according to the affidavit. has been done.
He then dragged Riley’s body to a secluded area, the affidavit said, supporting charges of concealing the student’s death.
The suspect faces eight charges, including felony murder, false imprisonment, kidnapping and concealing the death of another person. Authorities said there was no evidence he knew Riley.
Additional details about the type of object used or exactly how he was killed were not included in the affidavit filed in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court.
According to the document, the attack occurred between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Thursday.
Meanwhile, Athens-Clarke County Prosecutor Deborah Gonzalez announced Monday that she would appoint a special prosecutor for the case, WANF-TV reported.
Gonzalez said he would nominate attorney Sheila Ross, whom he described as a “knowledgeable and well-respected trial attorney with the expertise to bring justice on Laken Riley’s behalf.”
Last year, Ybarra twice eluded law enforcement and could have been deported after his arrest in the Big Apple.
He was arrested in Queens on Aug. 31 and charged with child endangerment, but was released before immigration authorities filed a request for his custody with local police, authorities announced Monday. did.
Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Ga.) said Ybarra was also wanted on a warrant in Georgia for failing to appear in court for shoplifting in December.
“ICE confirmed what we already knew: Jose Ybarra was in the country illegally,” Gaines said. Posted in X Monday. “What the media hasn’t reported is that he was wanted for shoplifting in Athens in October, and there was also a bench warrant out for his arrest after he failed to appear in court.”
Follow The Post’s coverage of Laken Riley’s murder
Ybarra illegally entered the United States with his wife and son in El Paso, Texas, on September 8, 2022, seeking asylum and was later released “for further processing,” ICE said.
He ended up in New York City, where he worked in food delivery and at an unnamed restaurant.
According to police, on August 31, New York City police allegedly saw Ybarra riding a scooter with his 5-year-old step-son, who was not wearing a helmet or restraint. It is said that there was not.
Ybarra was charged with a felony and released.
The immigrant was arrested for shoplifting at a Walmart in Athens, Ga., on Oct. 27 and charged with shoplifting, but he failed to appear in court and a warrant was issued on Dec. 20, Gaines said. .
Riley, who transferred from the University of Georgia to the nearby Augusta University School of Nursing last year, will be remembered at a funeral Friday.
with post wire
