ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia prosecutors on Monday took into custody Jose Ybarra, the suspect accused of killing Augusta University nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in February, according to a Fox News contributor. He said he called his wife from there and sent her to the scene. Paul Mauro.
Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national, was charged 10 years in connection with the murder of Riley on the morning of Feb. 22, when Riley was out for his usual morning jog along a trail on the UGA campus near Herrick Lake. has been charged with. He is scheduled to appear in an Athens courtroom on Tuesday for the third day of his murder trial.
On Monday, the second day of Ybarra's trial, an Athens-Clarke County courtroom heard a recorded jailhouse phone call between Ybarra and his wife, Rayling Franco, who spoke fluent Spanish to the FBI. The analyst played the audio and interpreted it.
“She said she thought it was strange that they didn't have other people's DNA. They only had their own DNA. And how could they see someone dead without calling? She said she couldn't understand how anyone could do that. [sic] 911,” FBI analyst Avasis Ramirez testified in court Monday while interpreting the prosecution request.
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Jose Ibarra focuses on witnesses during his trial Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court in Athens, Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Associated Press, Pool)
Mauro, a former executive with the New York City Police Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Activities Analysis, said the tip essentially put Ybarra at the scene of the crime.
“She obviously doesn't believe him. … At one point she said, 'Jose, I know you,' and that was a very… defining moment,” Mauro said. He talked about his phone call with Franco. The truly shocking words were when she said to him: “I can't believe you saw someone die and didn't call 911.'' ”
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The exterior of Jose Antonio Ibarra's apartment in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Ybarra was charged with the murder of Laken Riley after his body was found along the boardwalk on the University of Georgia campus earlier this week. (Mark Sims, Fox News Digital)
Mauro appears to be referring to the call telling her, “I was there, I saw the body, but I didn't call 911, and I didn't.” He said he believed that.
“I have found that the most interesting thing is actually the most mundane thing: the fact that: [Riley] “Her nails were chipped and there was skin under her nails from fighting for her life. Jose sustained injuries from such a fight,” UGA police body camera footage played in court Monday. Mauro said, referring to the footage. Investigators were shown examining Ibarra's body for signs of injury.
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Laken Riley poses for a photo to post on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a lake on campus on February 22nd. An illegal immigrant was charged with her murder. (Laken Riley/Facebook)
UGA PD Patrol Cp. Rafael Sayan questioned Ybarra on Monday about injuries to his hands and arms on Feb. 23, the day after Riley's murder, but Ybarra largely dismissed them as general scrapes and bleeding from the February cold. He testified that he had done so.
Body camera footage from that morning shows officers first encountering Ybarra on Feb. 23. Officers first arrived at the apartment around 8:30 a.m. on February 23 and questioned Jose's brothers, Diego Ibarra and Argenis Ibarra, before proceeding with a search warrant. . Inside the apartment.
Watch: Police enter Jose Ibarra's apartment:
The footage shows officers entering the room, shining a light on Jose, who was in bed at the time, and repeatedly saying “Hola” to wake him up. After about a minute, Jose got out of bed and raised his hands.
“This is just speculation, but I think he was probably very drunk.”[icated]”Mauro noted that investigators have linked a white plastic cup containing a liquid that smells of alcohol to the scene of Riley's murder. Security camera footage taken near the crime scene that morning. A suspicious-looking man was seen holding a white cup.As late as Monday, investigators said they saw a similar white plastic cup that smelled of alcohol. discovered.
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An overview of the area where Laken Riley's body was found near Herrick Lake on the University of Georgia campus on Saturday, February 24, 2024 in Athens, Georgia. Jose Antonio Ibarra was previously charged with murder after Riley was killed. week. (Mark Sims, Fox News Digital)
The suspect is charged with 10 counts: one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, one count of kidnapping, one count of aggravated assault with intent to commit rape, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of interfering with a 911 call. , one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of being a “peeping tom.” Ibarra has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecutor Ross said Ybarra then encountered Riley during his usual morning run and assaulted him.
The murder of Laken Riley has shocked the nation as the border crisis continues. (Ilya Neuverage/AFP via Getty Images)
“On February 22nd, Jose Ibarra donned a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket, and black kitchen-style disposable gloves and went looking for females on the University of Georgia campus,” Ross said in his opening statement Friday. said. .
Ibarra and his brother also entered the country illegally from Venezuela and lived in an apartment less than a half-mile from the campus park where Riley ran.
Defense attorney Dustin Kirby argued in his opening statement that the evidence could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ybarra killed Riley. He said it would take “gymnastics” for prosecutors to argue that Mr. Ybarra killed Mr. Riley using what he called “circumstantial evidence.”
Jose Ybarra, who is accused of killing a Georgia nursing student earlier this year, is seen with his attorney Dustin Kirby (second from left) during his trial in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Friday, November. He sits with defendant Caitlin Beck (left) and listens through an interpreter. 15, 2024, Athens, Georgia. (Hyo-Seob Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)
“If that were to happen, and the presumption of innocence was to be respected, there would not be sufficient evidence to satisfy Mr. Ybarra that he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the crimes he is charged with,” Kirby said Monday. spoke.
UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark previously described the murder as a “crime of opportunity” at a press conference in February.
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Jose Ibarra looks down as he listens through an interpreter during his trial in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, via AP, Pool)
Ybarra entered the United States illegally. El Paso, Texas They will be released on parole to the United States in September 2022, ICE and DHS officials previously told Fox News.
Diego Ibarra, who briefly worked in the UGA cafeteria before his arrest in February, is charged with green card fraud and is a member of a known Venezuelan gang in the U.S., according to federal court documents. He is said to have had a relationship with Torren de Aragua.
On Friday afternoon, the defense summoned Diego Ibarra and his brother Argenis Ibarra to testify at Jose's trial on Wednesday.
Laken Riley poses for a photo to post on Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a lake on campus on Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Alison Phillips/Facebook)
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ICE previously confirmed to Fox News Digital that Jose Ibarra was arrested by police. new york city police A year later, in August 2023, he entered the United States and was charged with “acts causing injury to a child under 17 years of age and violation of a motor vehicle license.”
Mauro said some criminal cases “represent something bigger than themselves,” and Riley's case is one of them.
“This…forces these issues to move forward. All of a sudden we have to talk about this,” Mauro said, referring to the topic of illegal immigration.
The former NYPD officer also praised the quick efforts of UGA police in arresting the suspect just one day after Riley's murder.
FOX News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.
