ATHENS — The state presented the last of its evidence against Jose Ibarra on Tuesday, wrapping up three days of testimony that painted him as a man on the prowl for female victims before he eventually set his sights on jogger Laken Riley.
The prosecution called more than 20 witnesses and entered more than 300 items into evidence. Special prosecutor Sheila Ross ended the state’s case by calling crime lab specialists to the stand.
Ashley Hinkle, a GBI scientist, testified that a key piece of forensic evidence — a jacket found in a dumpster — had a mixture of Ibarra’s and Riley’s DNA. She also said Riley had Ibarra’s DNA under her fingernails. However, testing could not connect Ibarra to an Adidas hat and gloves that investigators say he was wearing on the morning of the killing. Hinkle testified that the results were inconclusive for Ibarra’s DNA but did show Riley’s.
The defense, which started presenting its case Tuesday afternoon, attacked the reliability of the crime lab’s results. It also questioned whether the results eliminated Ibarra’s brothers, Diego and Argenis Ibarra, as suspects.
Diego Ibarra was called by defense attorneys to testify, but the judge halted proceedings until his attorney could be contacted.
Jose Ibarra, arrested the day after Riley was slain, is charged with felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, hindering a 911 call and tampering with evidence. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
The state’s case relies heavily on cellphone data and video camera footage that investigators contend track Jose Ibarra’s movement in the hours before and after he allegedly killed Riley on Feb. 22. Police testified that digital apps show he made a purchase at a liquor store close to his apartment at 9:30 p.m. Feb. 21 and was up all night, posting intermittently on social media.
Ibarra, who lived with his two brothers in an apartment on South Milledge Street, left his residence shortly before 7 a.m. and went “hunting” for women on the University of Georgia campus, Ross argues.
Investigators say Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan national, tried to break into the apartment of a female graduate student who lived in university housing, just a short walk from Cielo Azulyk, where he resided. She was in the shower but heard someone at her door. When she looked through her peephole and called out to the person dressed in dark clothing, he went away, she testified, only for her to find him peeking through her window blinds.
About 30 minutes later, according to the prosecution, Ibarra was stalking the running trails near the University of Georgia’s intramural fields as police, alerted to a suspicious person by the grad student, looked for him.
An hour after that, Riley encountered him on the trail, investigators contend, and was alarmed enough to call 911. Investigators say Ibarra intervened before she could speak to the 911 dispatcher.
A fierce fight ensued as Ibarra tried to rape Riley, Ross said, but she “refused to be his rape victim.” The struggle lasted 17 minutes, the prosecutor said. Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student, was bludgeoned with a rock and asphyxiated. An autopsy showed her skull was fractured.
Meanwhile, Riley’s relatives and friends were growing increasingly concerned as they tried to reach her. University of Georgia police Sgt. Sophie Raboud, who examined data from Riley’s phone, read aloud text messages in court that were sent by the victim’s mother. Allyson Phillips cried in court as the texts to her daughter were read.
“Call me when you can,” Phillips wrote at 9:38 a.m.
At 9:51 a.m., she tried to call Riley.
“You’re making me nervous not answering while you’re running. Please call me. I’m worried sick about you,” Phillips texted at 9:58 a.m. Again and again, she tried to reach her daughter.
Riley’s roommates went looking for her, using a “find my friends” app. They discovered an AirPod on the running trail that they believed belonged to her, but didn’t find her. That prompted them to call University of Georgia police. Shortly after 12:30 p.m., police spotted Riley about 65 feet off the trail.
The trial continues Wednesday.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
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