The suspected killer of student nurse Laken Riley grinned in a social media post the day she was murdered – and has since been arrested and denied bond.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was filmed being handcuffed near apartments located close to where the victim’s body was found.
The Venezuelan illegal migrant has been charged with the murder of the 22-year-old University of Georgia student.
Riley was found dead in a field at the college’s Athens campus on Thursday after failing to return home from a jog.
The day of the murder, her suspected killer uploaded a selfie onto his TikTok account in which he stared into the camera and grinned.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was filmed being handcuffed near apartments located close to where murder victim and UGA student Laken Riley was found
The day of the murder, Riley’s suspected killer Ibarra uploaded a selfie onto his TikTok account in which he stared into the camera and grinned
UGA murder victim Laken Riley, 22, was killed by ‘blunt force trauma’ police investigating her death said
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, has been identified and charged for allegedly murdering nursing student Laken Riley, 22, at the University of Georgia in Athens
On Saturday, Ibarra a judge denied Ibarra bond as his court was not authorized to do so and sent the matter to a higher court, Atlanta News First reports.
The outlet obtained footage of Ibarra’s arrest at Argo Apartments off S Milledge Ave in Athens on Friday.
The residences are near several trails looping around the area where Riley’s body was discovered.
Video shows Ibarro being held up against a car and placed in handcuffs sporting the same red shirt he is wearing in his mugshot.
He has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, concealing the death of another and failure to appear for a finger printable charge.
Cops said that he did not know the victim and the crime was a ‘random, solo act.’
His brother, Diego Ibarra, was also arrested on Friday for presenting a fake green card to police.
Cops confirmed that Riley died from ‘blunt force trauma’ after they made the grim discovery on an intramural field at the school.
She had been reported missing by a concerned roommate. Riley’s family spoke of their devastation following her murder.
Ibarra has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call, and concealing the death of another
On Saturday, Ibarra a judge denied Ibarra bond as his court was not authorized to do so and sent the matter to a higher court
Officials confirmed that Ibarra is not a US citizen and did not know or have any kind of relationship with Riley
Police search a wooded area at the University of Georgia after the shock discovery Thursday
‘The loss is unimaginable. A beautiful girl taken away in this senseless act of violence. There are no words. Only God knows the pain and can heal our broken hearts,’ cousin Denise Brown Ewing said.
UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark told reporters at a press conference Thursday that officers have searched Ibarra’s apartment in Athens and evidence shows that he acted alone.
‘He did not know her at all. I think this is a crime of opportunity where he saw an individual and bad things happened,’ Clark said.
‘The evidence is robust. It is supported by key input by the community, physical evidence and expert police work. Importantly, we were assisted by video footage from our campus security cameras network.’