Laken Riley, a 22-year-old's body was found near UGA's campus the same day her worried roommate contacted the campus police after she did not return from a morning run on February 22. The investigation led to the arrest of a 26-year-old Venzualian man, Jose Ibarra, on February 23.
According to reports, some of the charges that Ibarra faces include malice murder and multiple counts of felony murder, alongside charges for aggravated battery as well as aggravated assault, kidnapping, etc.
Ibarra declined a jury trial and opted for a bench trial, his trial began on November 15, nine months after Riley's murder. One of the key pieces of evidence the prosecution used to provide arguments in the court was the data collected from Laken Riley's Garmin smartwatch.
How did Laken Riley's watch help the investigation?
The Garmin smartwatch that Riley, a nursing student from Augusta University, wore helped the prosecution in establishing certain facts related to her murder.
According to reports, the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team's analysis of data from the smartwatch provided them with the information that something halted Riley's run at 9:10 am, around that time she also used her phone's SOS system to call 911.
Riley's heart rate dropped for a few minutes and Prosecutor Sheila Ross also informed the judge that according to the watch's data, she moved 65 feet into the woods after a 4-minute encounter with her attacker.
"She's on this trail with this defendant for about four minutes, and then you see four minutes later, her Garmin (smartwatch) moves 65 feet into the woods," Prosecutor Sheila Ross said.
The prosecution and investigators believe that Laken Riley's encounter with her attacker was 'long' as her heart stops at 9:28 am and her watch does not record any more movements.
Evidence prosecution used against Jose Ibarra in court
The prosecution submitted other evidence that it alleges points to Jose Ibarra as Laken Riley's murderer. One such piece of evidence provided is the DNA found underneath Riley's fingernails, which the prosecution alleges belongs to Jose.
According to reports, there is also a thumb impression on the victim's phone, which the prosecution believes belongs to Ibarra.
The police initially questioned Jose because of a jacket found in a dumpster close to his apartment. A ring camera caught a man discarding the jacket at 9:44 am, which had Riley's hair on it. During the questioning, one of the officers noticed scratches on Jose's biceps, and he was unable to provide where he got them from.
Another evidence was the phone call between Jose and his wife from jail was also used by the prosecution. According to reports, in the phone call, Jose's wife can be seen asking him what happened to the girl and why his DNA was on Riley's fingernails, etc.
A student called the police because she heard someone trying to open her door and later looked through her window. She also reported that the man was wearing a black hat, black jacket, and black gloves, which was similar to what Ibarra had on in a Snapchat story.
The trail camera footage also shows a man in similar clothing near where Laken Riley was running.
Another piece of evidence against Ibarra was a testimony by an FBI analyst, James Berni according to whom, Ibarra's phone was near the same area as Riley's watch between 9:10 a.m. and 9:12 a.m. on Feb. 22.
According to Jose's defense attorney,
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"The evidence in this case is very good that Laken Riley was murdered. The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial."
The case is being presented before Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.
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