Laken Riley murder trial latest: FBI agent testifies suspect’s phone data places him ‘very close’ to killing as day two wraps up
Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan native who entered the US illegally, is charged with the February killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley
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The second day of testimony wrapped up on Monday with an FBI agent who testified that Jose Ibarra’s cell phone location data places him “very close” to Laken Riley at the time of her murder.
FBI Special Agent James “Jay” Berni, who analyzed the suspect’s phone data, told the court that between 9:09 a.m. and 9:12 a.m., his phone and Riley’s digital profile were “very close” until “approximately, I would say, probably 9:32,” he said.
Riley’s smartwatch data showed her heart stopped at 9:28 a.m., according to earlier testimony.
Ibarra, a Venezuelan native who entered the US illegally, is now on trial for the murder of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was beaten to death while out for a run on February 22.
It’s a case that became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration during this year’s presidential campaign.
Prosecutor Sheila Ross said Ibarra had been “hunting” for women on the day of the murder but when he came across Riley she “fought” back. When she “refused to be a rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly.” Defense attorney Dustin Kirby agreed that Riley’s death was a tragedy, but said there is not sufficient evidence to prove that it was Ibarra.
Testimony will continue on Tuesday.
If convicted, Ibarra could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Testimony will continue on Tuesday
Updates on Jose Ibarra’s trial will pause until tomorrow.
Testimony is expected to resume at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Day 2 wraps up as state prepares to rest and defense has less than half a day of witnesses
Day two of Jose Ibarra’s murder trial wrapped up on Monday and will resume on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Prosecutors told the court they will rest their case against Ibarra on Tuesday. The defense team was told to have their witnesses ready for the afternoon.
One of the defense attorneys told the judge they have less than half a day of testimony planned.
FBI agent says suspect’s phone data places him ‘very close’ to Laken Riley at time of murder
FBI Special Agent James “Jay” Berni, who analyzed the suspect’s phone data, told the court that between 9:09 a.m. and 9:12 a.m., Jose Ibarra’s phone and Laken Riley’s digital profile were “very close” until “approximately, I would say, probably 9:32,” he said.
Riley’s smartwatch data showed her heart stopped at 9:28 a.m., according to earlier testimony.
The agent went on to say that Ibarra’s cell phone location then moved away from the crime scene, back to his apartment, to the dumpster where it’s alleged he dumped his jacket and back home around 9:44 a.m.
He also pointed out that the data showed movement from Ibarra’s apartment, then near the apartment of a doctoral student at the University of Georgia, who testified earlier that an unknown person was peeping into her home while she was in the shower, jsuyt an hour before Riley was killed.
Then, Ibarra’s “device was most likely in the forested area somewhere along this park (Oconee Forest Park),” at 9:09 a.m., Berni testified.
Jogger says she saw a person in hooded jacket standing ‘really, really still’ on the trail morning of Laken Riley’s murder
Sally Kirklewski, who was an avid runner on the trails, testified that she saw a person on the trails the morning of Laken Riley’s murder who was standing “really, really still.”
The person appeared to be a man, she said, and was wearing a navy blue jacket with the hood up. He was wearing gloves and dark pants and dark shoes, she added.
When she spotted him, he was standing near a retention pond facing away from the trail, she said.
“I continued running past this person a little bit faster,” she said.
Laken Riley’s mother cries during testimony about the moment her heart stopped beating
Laken Riley’s mother broke down in tears again in court on Monday – this time during testimony that revealed the exact moment her heart stopped.
University of Georgia police officer Wesley Durkit said that data from Laken Riley’s smartwatch show her heart rate and moving speed slowing down and then coming to a sudden stop at 9:10 a.m. Her heart stopped beating at 9:28 a.m., he said.
She activated the SOS feature on her phone at 9:10:39 a.m. and a 911 call went out at 9:11:06 a.m., Durkit testified.
Riley’s heart rate dropped to zero beats per minute and remained there until a few short spikes at 12:38 p.m., when a police officer performed CPR on her, he testified.
Woman testifies about peeping tom incident that happened hour before Laken Riley’s murder
Tejaswi Stamilmnai Saraswathi, 24, testified about someone trying to get into her apartment while she was in the shower.
It happened on the morning of February 22 about an hour before Laken Riley’s murder.
Jose Ibarra faces the peeping tom charge related to the incident.
Saraswathi, who was a student at the University of Georgia, told the court she heard someone “fidgeting” with the door of her Athens apartment.
“When I went to see who it was, I saw through a peephole someone was trying to open the door,” she said. The person fled, but she saw that he was wearing a black hood, black jacket, a hat and black gloves. But she couldn’t see his face, she said.
Ibarra’s roommate testified they took ‘humanitarian flight’ from NYC to Georgia
Jose Ibarra’s roommate Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello testified through an interpreter that she moved with him from New York City to Athens, Georgia, in September of 2023.
Flores-Bello was living in Queens when they met through his mother-in-law.
She said they moved to Georgia because Ibarra’s brother talked about the many work opportunities in Athens.
When asked by the state how they got to Athens, Flores-Bello said they requested a “humanitarian flight” in September.
“In Manhattan, at The Roosevelt Hotel, we asked for a humanitarian flight to come here to Atlanta, to come here to Manhattan,” she said.
The hotel was used as a temporary in-take center for migrants.
Jose Ibarra took selfies in clothes matching clothes seen in a surveillance video
An image displayed in court shows Jose Ibarra who was seen wearing a hat that led the police to his arrest.
The selfies were found on Ibarra’s phone.
Ibarra’s wife asks ‘What happened with the girl’ in jail phone call
In a recorded jail phone call played in court on Monday, Jose Ibarra’s wife, Layling Franco, urged him to tell the truth following his arrest for the brutal murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley earlier this year.
FBI specialist Abeisis Ramirez testified about the call, providing a Spanish to English translation of the conversation.
“She continues to ask him: What happened with the girl?” Ramirez testified. “She tells him that he has to know something, and he just continues to tell her like, ‘Layling enough, Layling enough.’”
Ramirez said Layling then “said that she thinks it’s crazy that they don’t have anyone else’s DNA – they only have his. And she said she doesn’t understand how someone can see someone dying and not call 911.”
“I know you know something,” she added on the call.
Ibarra’s brothers subpoenaed to testify
Ibarra’s brothers have been subpoenaed to testify, according to a court filing Monday.
Jose Ibarra’s brothers, Diego and Argenis, lived in the same apartment. They face federal charges for allegedly having false immigration documents.
It’s not clear when they will take the stand.