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Who is Laken Riley? | kare11.com
Here’s a look at everything you need to know about this case.
ATHENS, Ga. — Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed while going for a run on the University of Georgia campus in late February, has become a focal point of national political conversations since her death.
Riley was found dead in a wooded area behind a lake near UGA’s intramural fields on Feb. 22 by campus police. A day later, a 26-year-old suspect named Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested and charged with her murder.
In the weeks since, questions over Ibarra’s immigration status have become a political flashpoint on border security, as likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and the GOP party have used her death to rebuke President Joe Biden’s immigration policies.
Here’s an exhaustive look at everything you need to know about this case.
Who is Laken Riley?
Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University who was killed Thursday, Feb. 22, while out on a run near the intramural fields on UGA’s campus.
UGA Police received a call just around noon from a concerned friend of Riley who had gone for a run at the intramural fields. Officers then responded to the area at 12:38 p.m. and immediately began searching for her 20 minutes after they received the call.
UGA Police then found Riley dead with “visible injuries” behind Lake Herrick in the forested area on campus, which is not too far from the intramural fields.
Riley, a Woodstock native, attended River Ridge High School in Cherokee County, where she ran on the cross-country team.
According to officials, Riley was a UGA student through the Spring Semester 2023 before she transferred to the Augusta University College of Nursing program at Athens, where she was currently enrolled as a junior and on the Dean’s List.
Augusta University said they are in a partnership with UGA, allowing students to participate in UGA campus activities.
Riley joined a sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, in the fall of 2020.
Statements from those who knew Riley described her as a beloved person in the community.
An online fundraiser was launched for her memorial. As of March 7, it had raised more than $239,000 from more than 4,800 donations. You can find it here.
Who is Jose Antonio Ibarra?
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was arrested and charged with Laken Riley’s killing. Ibarra is charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, false imprisonment, kidnapping, concealing the death of another and hindering a 911 call.
Ibarra was arrested on Feb. 23, a day after Riley’s body was found. Records show that Ibarra, a Venezuelan man, entered the United States illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.
According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Ibarra and his wife entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, in September 2022. After being arrested and released, his wife told the New York Post they were put on a bus and sent to New York.
At that time, immigration attorney Pamela Peynado said Venezuelans had special protective status in the U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that Ibarra was first arrested in Sept. 2022 “after unlawfully entering the United States near El Paso, Texas.”
You can read more about Ibarra’s immigration background in 11Alive’s investigative story here.
Much remains unknown of the specific details about how exactly Ibarra came to allegedly attack Riley and what, if any, motive may have existed.
But the warrants accuse Ibarra of some specific acts. Those include:
- His aggravated assault charge alleges “causing great bodily harm with an object.” The object is not specified.
- His aggravated battery charge alleges bodily harm caused to Riley’s skull.
- His charge of concealing the death of another alleges he “did conceal the death of another person, and/or hinder discovery by dragging the victim to a secluded area.”
Additionally, police have previously said the call from the concerned friend came in around noon on Feb. 22 and that officers were in the area by about 12:38 p.m. The arrest warrants allege the killing happened sometime between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Ibarra made his first appearance in front of a judge on Feb. 24 in the first legal step in a Georgia criminal case. He was not eligible for bond at this stage due to the murder charges he faces.
What is the Laken Riley Act?
The U.S. House passed a resolution Thursday centering on the death of Laken Riley.
It was introduced as H.R.7511, stating it would “require the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody” undocumented immigrants who have been charged with theft.
An afternoon vote in the House saw the resolution pass 251-170, with 11 members not voting. The vote for the Republican-sponsored resolution included support from 37 Democrats.
The resolution was introduced by Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, whose district includes Athens.
The bill aims to toughen penalties for undocumented individuals accused of criminal activities after Riley’s accused killer, Jose Ibarra, had been cited, but not arrested, for shoplifting in December.
“While we can’t bring Laken back, we must now turn our focus to doing everything we can to prevent this from happening to another American,” Rep. Collins said in a statement.
The resolution also gives state attorney generals the authority to litigate against the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security if they allege a “violation of the detention and removal requirements” of the resolution.
The resolution must now go to the Democrat-controlled Senate, where its prospects are unclear.
Local mom of two Kirsten Coder didn’t let her cancer diagnosis stop her in her tracks, she got through it all with help from others and places like Hope Chest.
ORONO, Minn. — The three words “You have cancer” are life-changing.
“It was devastating,” said Kirsten Coder, a Twin Cities mom of two. “It was like my world just fell out from under me.”
Kirsten Coder’s mom was the first in their family to have breast cancer.
“They got her right into chemo like essentially like after finding out she had cancer cause it was very aggressive and it worked and um we’re really thankful for that and she had the full meal deal,” Coder shared. “We call it the double mastectomy of chemo and radiation and she’s still here today and cancer-free.”
Her mom was cancer-free, but little did Kirsten know her own battle with cancer was about to begin.
“I started screening, they wanted me to at 10 years before my mom’s diagnosis and that put me at 39 and I’d had a, a lump for a number of years that was bothering me,” Coder said.
Despite so many unknowns coming with a breast cancer diagnosis, the hardest part for Kirsten was telling her daughters.
“My girls knew something was wrong because I just told them I had something that was hurting me that I just needed to get figured out what it was, and my girls knew before I even told them that it was something,” Coder said.
“I said, ‘This is big guys’ and before I even said the words, they said, ‘Mom, God’s gotten us through some pretty hard things already in our life and we know God’s gonna get us through this too.’ I knew right then that we were gonna be ok.”
Kirsten was thankful she was in the early stages, soon undergoing a bilateral mastectomy, chemo and radiation. She says finding a support system and not being afraid to ask for help from organizations like Hope Chest for Breast Cancer made a huge difference.
“I first learned of Hope Chest in around 2009 when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Coder. “She said did you know there’s a store you can go shop and the proceeds go towards helping women with breast cancer and I thought, let’s check it out.”
A percentage of every item sold at the resale store in Orono goes towards helping families like Kirsten’s in the breast cancer community.
“We help with rent, mortgage groceries, auto-related expenses, daycare and we are seeing more unique needs come through for the patients,” said Hope Chest Executive Director Maureen Scallen Failor.
Failor says Hope Chest has been doing incredible things since its inception in 2001. To date, they have shared over $2.9 million in patient grants, which has served over 6,000 patients.
“It was like kind of a surprise after surprise along the way and I’m self-employed and I don’t have sick time,” said Coder. “I had to take time off work to recover from these things and take care of my kids too. That’s why I’m so thankful for hope chest.”
Local mom of two Kirsten Coder didn’t let her cancer diagnosis stop her in her tracks, she got through it all with help from others and places like Hope Chest.
ORONO, Minn. — The three words “You have cancer” are life-changing.
“It was devastating,” said Kirsten Coder, a Twin Cities mom of two. “It was like my world just fell out from under me.”
Kirsten Coder’s mom was the first in their family to have breast cancer.
“They got her right into chemo like essentially like after finding out she had cancer cause it was very aggressive and it worked and um we’re really thankful for that and she had the full meal deal,” Coder shared. “We call it the double mastectomy of chemo and radiation and she’s still here today and cancer-free.”
Her mom was cancer-free, but little did Kirsten know her own battle with cancer was about to begin.
“I started screening, they wanted me to at 10 years before my mom’s diagnosis and that put me at 39 and I’d had a, a lump for a number of years that was bothering me,” Coder said.
Despite so many unknowns coming with a breast cancer diagnosis, the hardest part for Kirsten was telling her daughters.
“My girls knew something was wrong because I just told them I had something that was hurting me that I just needed to get figured out what it was, and my girls knew before I even told them that it was something,” Coder said.
“I said, ‘This is big guys’ and before I even said the words, they said, ‘Mom, God’s gotten us through some pretty hard things already in our life and we know God’s gonna get us through this too.’ I knew right then that we were gonna be ok.”
Kirsten was thankful she was in the early stages, soon undergoing a bilateral mastectomy, chemo and radiation. She says finding a support system and not being afraid to ask for help from organizations like Hope Chest for Breast Cancer made a huge difference.
“I first learned of Hope Chest in around 2009 when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Coder. “She said did you know there’s a store you can go shop and the proceeds go towards helping women with breast cancer and I thought, let’s check it out.”
A percentage of every item sold at the resale store in Orono goes towards helping families like Kirsten’s in the breast cancer community.
“We help with rent, mortgage groceries, auto-related expenses, daycare and we are seeing more unique needs come through for the patients,” said Hope Chest Executive Director Maureen Scallen Failor.
Failor says Hope Chest has been doing incredible things since its inception in 2001. To date, they have shared over $2.9 million in patient grants, which has served over 6,000 patients.
“It was like kind of a surprise after surprise along the way and I’m self-employed and I don’t have sick time,” said Coder. “I had to take time off work to recover from these things and take care of my kids too. That’s why I’m so thankful for hope chest.”
Johnson, who played hockey at Hibbing and UMD, died after his neck was cut by an opponent’s skate during a pro game in Sheffield, England.
SHEFFIELD, UK — It’s been one year since the death of American hockey player Adam Johnson, whose neck was fatally cut by an opponent’s skate during a game in Sheffield, England.
A man remains under investigation after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Thousands of fans witnessed the grisly collision last Oct. 28 and there’s video of it but authorities have not announced a decision about whether they will bring charges.
There could be a variety of explanations, from delays in digital forensic analyses to weighing the potential difficulty in proving criminality for “on-the-ball” incidents like this one.
Johnson and the Nottingham Panthers were playing the Sheffield Steelers in the Elite Ice Hockey League’s cup competition. The Steelers were leading 2-1 in the second period. Johnson, a forward who briefly played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, skated with the puck into Sheffield’s defensive zone. As he pivoted to move inside, Steelers defenseman Matt Petgrave was skating toward him. Petgrave had another Panthers player in front of him and appeared to have made contact. Then, Petgrave’s left skate elevated as the defenseman began to fall and the blade hit Johnson in the neck.
Johnson, a Minnesota native who was 29, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. The Panthers had described it as a “freak accident.” On Nov. 14, South Yorkshire Police arrested a man but have not released his name or age. The man was released on bail the next day and has been “ re-bailed ” several times — a formality while the investigation continues. In the British system, an arrest signals the start of an investigation — a decision on charges would come afterward.
Police try to determine the “state of mind” of defendants. Besides conducting interviews, that likely means examining phones or computers — and that’s time consuming, even when defendants give passwords, which they’re not obligated to do.
“There are massive delays in the British criminal justice system. Cases are taking a long time to be brought to charge,” criminal defense lawyer Quentin Hunt told The Associated Press.
A report published less than two years ago said there was a backlog of 25,000 devices waiting to be examined.
“My cases are regularly being delayed by up to a year because of delays in getting back digital analyses of devices,” Hunt said. “It is notorious within the British justice system, why cases are taking longer to be brought to a charging decision.”
Lawyers point to a 2004 court ruling that overturned the “grievous bodily harm” conviction of an amateur soccer player who seriously injured an opponent with an on-the-ball tackle. It said criminal prosecution should be reserved for conduct that is “sufficiently grave.”
In deciding if conduct reaches the criminal threshold “it has to be borne in mind that, in highly competitive sports, conduct outside the rules can be expected to occur in the heat of the moment,” the ruling added. “The type of sport, the level at which it is played, the nature of the act, the degree of force used, the extent of the risk of injury, the state of mind of the defendant are all likely to be relevant in determining whether the defendant’s actions go beyond the threshold.”
Prosecutions have been more common in “off-the-ball” scenarios such us punching, biting or head-butting.
An “on-the-ball” case that involved a rugby player being left partially paralyzed was handled in civil court. Natasha King wasn’t criminally charged despite dropping her body weight onto Dani Czernuszka-Watts, who was in a vulnerable position as she was about to pick up the ball in a 2017 match.
Czernuszka-Watts won her civil suit in which a former referee testified after watching video of the game that in his 60 years in rugby he had “never witnessed such a reckless incident.” The civil court judge had found that King had acted out of revenge built up from earlier in the match.
“Against those hallmarks, the fact that the incident would likely be considered ‘on the ball’ may have saved the injuring player from concurrent criminal prosecution,” attorney Henry Goldschmidt wrote in his analysis of criminal liability in sports.
Petgrave’s collision with Johnson was clearly “on the ball” because Johnson had the puck on his stick.
An incident in a hockey game in December 1995 led to a grievous bodily harm charge against Nicky Chinn, who played for the Steelers and was accused of purposely using his stick to injure an opponent’s eye. A jury found him not guilty.
The case is likely an involuntary manslaughter investigation in which “there has to be an unlawful act or negligence,” Hunt said, but prosecutors wouldn’t need to prove the intent to kill or cause serious bodily harm.
Gross negligence manslaughter is still involuntary but more complicated: “You owe a duty of care to someone else, and you are negligent in conduct and that gives rise to death due to your negligence,” Hunt added.
Voluntary manslaughter is more akin to a murder charge with clear intent to kill. The fact that Johnson wasn’t wearing a neck guard could prove legally significant.
“Given that it’s not up to him (the man under arrest) as to whether the other player wore a neck guard or not, then it will be, I imagine, quite difficult for the prosecution to prove to the requisite standard that he should be held criminally accountable,” Hunt said.
A week before an arrest was made, South Yorkshire coroner Tanyka Rawden issued a “ Prevention of Future Deaths ” report urging that neck guards be mandatory for all hockey players.
“In due course the inquest will consider whether the use of a neck guard or protector could have prevented Mr Johnson’s death. At this stage in my investigation however, I am sufficiently concerned that deaths may occur in the future if neck guards or protectors are not worn,” Rawden wrote.
The coroner’s inquest was suspended in January, a procedural move because the police investigation was ongoing.
There has been debate about player protections. Britain’s top league made neck guards mandatory last Jan. 1, two months after Johnson’s death.
The next key date is Nov. 11, when the man who was arrested would need to be re-bailed again. Petgrave, a 32-year-old Canadian, has not made any public statements and his agent declined to comment. Police have also declined to comment.
Teams around the league began recognizing the one-year mark by holding 47 seconds of applause before games this weekend.
The Panthers plan to hold a jersey retirement ceremony for Johnson’s No. 47 on Dec. 14.
