Nursing student Laken Riley was mourned at a funeral in his hometown Friday, one week after he was killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus.
Riley, 22, was remembered at a funeral service at Woodstock City Church in Woodstock, Georgia, at 2 p.m. FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
The streets surrounding the church were clogged with cars and hundreds of people braved the rain to pay their respects to the jogger. Photo published in Daily Mail.
Riley’s online obituary states that the family was accepting visitors for two hours prior to the service.
“Rayken was special. She was a gift to those who knew her. Wise, kind, caring and thoughtful we don’t just scratch the surface,” said Pastor Sameer Massad before the service. FOX 5 Atlanta reported.
“She was a loving daughter, sister, and friend. She had a talent for making those around her feel safe and noticed,” he added.
Riley, who studied at the University of Georgia for three years before transferring to nearby Augusta University’s nursing program, was found dead on a jogging track on the campus in Athens on February 22.
She had not returned from her regular morning run and was reported missing by a friend.
A subsequent autopsy determined that she died from a “severely disfiguring” head wound.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested on February 23 and charged with murder in connection with Riley’s death.
Ibarra, who is from Venezuela, is also charged with assault and interfering with Riley’s frantic attempts to call 911 immediately after the attack.
He is accused of abandoning her body, which was later found in a wooded area off a campus trail.
Additional details about the type of object used or how Riley was killed were not included in the initial affidavit filed in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court.
Riley’s murder and Ybarra’s arrest quickly sparked a national backlash against immigration policy, with some politicians using the incident as a platform to push for a tougher approach to the immigration crisis.
Ybarra reportedly entered the United States via the southern border in El Paso in September 2022.
Authorities said the suspect was held in El Paso pending immigration processing and then worked in New York City as a food delivery worker and in a restaurant.
Photos posted on multiple social media accounts reportedly showed them enjoying life in New York City during the month they arrived.
He was arrested in the Big Apple last year and charged with child endangerment after allegedly putting his 5-year-old step-son on a scooter without a helmet or restraint.
Ybarra’s last social media post was a silent selfie shared on TikTok the day before Riley was killed.
Ibarra’s older brother, Diego Ibarra, 29, was also arrested last week on suspicion of possessing a fake green card.
Diego Ibarra had previously been arrested three times in the Athens, Georgia area between September and December 2023.
Following Riley’s death, UGA poured $7.3 million into security upgrades.
The improvements include additional security cameras, a call box system, improved lighting on grounds, vehicle license plate readers and a 20% increase in the campus police budget, according to UGA Today, the Georgia school’s media outlet. That’s what it means.
The brutal murder of the aspiring nurse has also caused controversy locally, and as a result, the Democratic district attorney in charge of the case has resigned.
Athens-Clarke District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez was criticized for never securing a guilty verdict until she appointed veteran attorney Sheila Ross as special prosecutor in the high-profile investigation.
In a statement about his appointment, Gonzalez vowed not to use Riley’s murder for “political gain.”
