The illegal immigrant on trial for the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been found guilty on all counts.
Jose Ibarra, 26, was found guilty on 10 charges, including murder, kidnapping, and aggravated assault with intent to rape Riley, who was found murdered after she went jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens, the New York Post reported.
Ibarra had previously waived his right to a jury trial, so the verdict came from Judge Patrick Haggard during a bench trial. Haggard rendered his decision just 19 minutes after the prosecution and defense presented closing arguments.
During her closing arguments, Prosecutor Sheila Ross spent 45 minutes summarizing the facts of the case, saying the evidence against Ibarra was “overwhelming.” She noted that Ibarra’s roommates testified that he was guilty, his DNA was found under Riley’s fingernails, and his fingerprint was found on her cell phone.
“Quite frankly: she got him. She scratched him,” Ross said, referring to the injuries that were found on Ibarra’s hands and arms. On Monday, photos of Ibarra’s hands and arms with scratches were shown in court, The Daily Wire reported.
Ross also relayed some of the more graphic details of the crime.
“[H]e put huge holes in her head with a rock and he did it more than once. There is no reason for him to do that except to silence her forever,” she said, according to the Post.
She also reminded the judge that Ibarra was seen on surveillance footage disposing of a bloody jacket.
“He threw away that jacket because he knew exactly what was on it. It was his blood and her blood … so he knew he had to get rid of it,” she said. “He threw away those items because he knew he killed her.”
Ibarra’s defense attorney attempted to blame his brother Diego for Riley’s killing, saying he was the one who wore the hat seen by the man suspected of killing Riley in surveillance footage that eventually led to Jose.
Just a couple hours before the verdict footage of Diego’s police interrogation was shown. Diego, a member of the violent Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua, identified his brother as the man in surveillance footage during the interrogation.
“That’s him,” Diego said, referring to his brother.
“It looks like he’s throwing something in the trash. I’ve seen him in those clothes,” he added.
On Monday, the court also heard testimony from FBI analyst Abeisis Ramirez, who translated a jailhouse phone call between Ibarra and his wife.
“She said that she thinks it’s crazy that they don’t have anyone else’s DNA. They only have his,” Ramirez testified, according to Fox News.
Ibarra faces life in prison for the murder.