The heartbroken mother of murdered Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has spoken out about her daughter’s murder a day after the co-ed was buried, calling it a “senseless and avoidable tragedy.”
“My family faced the most devastating and unimaginable loss anyone has ever had to endure,” says grieving mother. Alison Phillips wrote on Facebook on Saturday..
“It would be really easy to lose faith in humanity because of this senseless and avoidable tragedy,” she said. “Please know that every act of kindness has warmed our hearts and brought joy in our worst nightmares.”
Police said Riley, a 22-year-old popular sorority member and Dean’s List student, was attacked on February 22 while running in a wooded area on the University of Georgia campus. Police announced that he was brutally murdered.
The young woman, who belonged to Alpha Chi Omega, was found dead just after 12:30 p.m.
The next day, police charged Jose Antonio Ibarra, a Venezuelan national who entered the United States illegally but was released by immigration authorities “pending further proceedings,” a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official said.
Mr. Ibarra, 26, is currently being held without bail, and his brother Diego Ibarra is being held by immigration authorities on suspicion of forging residence documents.
Riley was remembered Friday at a funeral in Woodstock, Georgia. CNN reported.
“We love you all and we hope that you know deep down in your hearts how much everything you have done for us means,” her mother said afterward. Posted in book.
“I love you all. Please continue to pray for our family as we put one foot in front of the other.”
Phillips added that donations to the new Laken Hope Riley Foundation “will go to organizations that promote murder awareness, women’s safety, and provide medical care to families in need.”
The slain daughter, a former nanny, was a student at the University of Georgia until transferring last year to the nearby Augusta University College of Nursing.
Riley’s death comes as Ybarra, who had twice avoided trial for other crimes and remained free for months before the fatal encounter, was released by immigration authorities after crossing the border in September 2022. It sparked widespread outrage. He lived in New York for a time before moving. He and his brother in Athens, Georgia.
Immigration officials say the murder suspect was arrested by the New York City Police Department in Queens in August on child endangerment charges, but was released before ICE could file a motion for detention and deportation.
In October, Ibarra and his brother were arrested for shoplifting more than $200 from an Athens Walmart, but were issued citations and released, according to a police report.
Jose Ibarra is currently being held on charges of murder, aggravated assault, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, interfering with a 911 call, and concealment of death due to the senseless killing of Riley.
Riley’s family said in a previous statement that she was a “wonderful daughter, sister, friend and all-around wonderful human being.”
The university where she was killed later announced that it would spend $7.3 million to beef up campus security, including installing more lights, phone booths and more security guards on campus.
A GoFundMe page in Riley’s memory had raised more than $220,000 by Sunday afternoon, according to a representative of the online donation site.
