Laken Riley’s suspected killer Jose Ibarra illegally entered US in 2022 — and was cut loose due to lack of detention space: report
The migrant accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley illegally entered the US in 2022 — and was cut loose when there was no space for him in a detention center, according to a report.
Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, who was arrested Friday in connection to the murder of the 22-year-old Augusta University student, crossed into El Paso, Texas, from Venezuela in September 2022, NewsNation reported Saturday, citing Department of Homeland Security sources.
He had been released due to a lack of detention space, the sources added.
Months before Ibarra allegedly killed Riley, he was apparently arrested in New York for endangering a child, according to NewsNation.
Police sources in New York confirmed a man by the same name and age as the Georgia suspect was arrested in the Big Apple last year after allegedly endangering the welfare of a 5-year-old.
Detectives launched a homicide investigation and filed murder charges against Ibarra, who had no known connection to Riley.
Riley’s body was found with “visible injuries” on a trail by Lake Herrick on the nearby University of Georgia campus Thursday, after a friend became worried when she didn’t return from her morning run.
Ibarra “did not know her at all. I think this is a crime of opportunity where he saw an individual and bad things happened,” UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark said Friday night.
Police are also holding Ibarra’s older brother, Diego Ibarra, for having a fraudulent green card, the US Attorney for Middle Georgia confirmed.
Diego Ibarra, 29, was caught with the fake document when police approached him in connection with Riley’s killing on Friday, the office explained.
Further investigation revealed that he was met by the US Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, on April 30, 2023.
He was processed for immediate removal, but was released to New York City pending asylum after he claimed reasonable fear of returning to his home country, the affidavit explained.
He was arrested in Athens, Georgia, three times between September and December 2023.
The elder Ibarra is now in state custody and faces a maximum of 10 years behind bars.
Follow along with The Post's coverage of Laken Riley's murder
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- Tributes to slain Ga. nursing student Laken Riley pour in as donations for scholarship in her name top $63K: ‘Would’ve saved so many lives’
- Migrant charged in death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley slipped through law enforcement’s hands twice
- Laken Riley murder suspect Jose Ibarra lived it up in NYC after reportedly entering US illegally, social media posts appear to show
- AP slammed for framing Laken Riley’s murder on dangers ‘female athletes’ face — not on migrant crimes
- Migrant suspect in Laken Riley murder accused of ‘seriously disfiguring’ nursing student as affidavit reveals grim details in case
He was seen wearing a UGA T-shirt and employee badge in social media videos obtained by The Post Saturday.
Another series of TikTok videos show him wearing a UGA T-shirt and badge and washing dishes in a large kitchen.
“Diego Ibarra presented a fake green card to the hiring unit to begin a temporary position as a dishwasher in Bolton Dining Hall at the University of Georgia on Feb. 6, 2024,” UGA spokesperson Greg Trevor told The Post Saturday evening.
‘The kindest person’
Riley was as serious and disciplined about her daily running as she was about her career in nursing, her roommate said.
The 22-year-old loved to run and she also loved helping others, her friend and former roommate Bianca Tiller, 21, told Fox News.
Tiller and Riley were roommates during their freshman year at the University of Georgia.
Tiller recalled that Riley was strict about her regular morning runs and always tracked them on her Apple watch.
“She would go on runs every single day, even when we were freshmen,” Tiller said. “Not a day would go by where she wouldn’t go on her runs, and if she missed a day, which was very rare, she would just get so hard on herself about it.”
Riley believed the trails she ran on along Lake Herrick were safe, Tiller said, adding that many students and local residents walk and jog there.
“The first thing that really shocked me was that it was in the middle of the day or the morning. It wasn’t like she was running at nighttime,” Tiller said. “For it to happen during the day in such a populated area, on a warm day where you would expect a lot of people to be outside, is just really shocking and didn’t really make sense.”
Riley was exceptionally kind, said Tiller, who added she did not know the victim to have any enemies.
“She would always be there for everybody,” Tiller said. “And she would just really bring everybody together and friendships together. I’ve met so many people through her, and she was just the kindest person. Like, nobody had anything terrible or even remotely bad to say about her.”
After three years at the University of Georgia, Riley entered a nursing program at Augusta University’s Athens campus, which is close to UGA.
“She’s been wanting [to be a nurse] for a really long time,” Tiller said. “She was studying biology when she was at UGA.”
Riley worked at a nursing home prior to starting college and often spoke about her time there, Tiller said.
“No matter how little the pay was and how difficult the work was, she just really liked helping people,” Tiller said.
