He Tried to R*pe Her… Then Killed Her Because She Resisted | True Crime Documentary

Laken Riley, 22 years old, loved to run. She went running between three and six times a week. She often ran with her friend Connolly, who was one of her three roommates. In May of 2023, Laken transferred from University of Georgia in Athens to the nursing program at Augusta Medical College. Her dream was to become a pediatric nurse.

 She also loved children. At 9:03 in the morning on February 22nd, 2024, Laken left her home, located near campus, to go for a run on the trails at Intramural Fields. That morning, she was alone. The area was a large park with soccer fields, tennis courts, walking trails, and a lake. It was a very popular place for students to run and enjoy other outdoor activities.

Two minutes after starting her run, surveillance cameras captured Laken heading south on Milledge Avenue Extension. She was holding her cell phone in her left hand, and two white AirPods were clearly visible on her ears. While running, Laken usually listened to music or called her mother to chat for a while.

 However, the call Laken made that morning was not to her mother. Six minutes after passing a bus stop and heading east along the trails toward the railroad tracks, Laken suddenly stopped. Her Garmin smartwatch recorded the exact moment she abruptly went from moving steadily to becoming completely motionless. Just moments later, the SOS feature on her cell phone activated automatically.

The call was placed to 911. Friends, I’m only going to interrupt for a moment. I’m really curious to know where you’re watching from, so I’d love for you to tell me what city you’re watching this video from, and what time it is there right now. Thanks so much for watching. Let me know in the comments, and now, let’s get back to the story.

>> Clark County 911. Hello, this is Clark County 911. Hello, Waterford Plantation, 911. Can anyone hear me? >> On the recording of the call, a faint voice can be heard in the background. Moments later, the sounds of a struggle begin, followed by four slightly muffled blows. The call lasted only 1 minute before the connection to the cell phone was lost.

The 911 operator made several attempts to call back, but no one answered. Connolly was Lakyn’s usual running partner during her morning runs. That day, she spent most of the morning in class. [music] Around 11:15, she checked her phone and saw several missed calls and messages. Her roommate, Lilly, had texted asking if Lakyn had gotten in touch with her.

In a voicemail, Lakyn’s younger sister, Lauren, also expressed her concern. At first, there was some confusion about why no one could reach Lakyn because that morning AT&T experienced a massive network outage. As a result, two of the young women’s phones stopped working, but Lakyn’s device was not affected by the outage.

By 11:00 that morning, they were certain that, regardless of the technical issues, Lakyn should have been answering her calls and messages. Lilly returned home and discovered that Lakyn still had not come back from her morning run. Using her phone’s location sharing feature, she tracked Lakyn’s cell phone to a wooded area near Intramural Fields.

For several hours, the location remained in exactly the same place. Their fourth roommate, Sophia, returned after an exam and joined Lilly and her dog, Champ. The two followed the trail Lakyn had most likely taken, making their way toward the wooded area while using the phone’s location as their guide. Lilly and Sophia left one of the main trails and began pushing through the dry leaves and thick brush.

That’s when Champ found a single white AirPod lying among the leaves. Realizing it almost certainly belonged to Lakyn, they immediately called 911. >> Hi, um we’re calling because our roommate went out for a run at 9:00. >> [snorts] >> She runs like really erratic behind um grad housing and we haven’t heard from her and [clears throat and snorts] we all just thought like service got cut and we don’t think it has anything to do with the outage.

Um we went to go look where her last location was and all we found was like AirPods. >> Okay, have you tried calling her since she has service back? >> Um her family doesn’t have it now. They think it’s the one with the power outage so they have service the whole time and her calls have been going through but they’re not [snorts] being answered.

>> What’s your name? >> Um my name is Kiernan McGonna. >> And what’s your friend’s name? >> Uh the one her name is Laken Riley. >> Sergeant Kenneth Maxwell of the University of Georgia Police Department took a screenshot of Laken’s phone location, shared it with fellow officers along with a photo of the young nursing student, and began searching the intramural fields area.

He followed the trails to the location where Laken’s phone had last transmitted a signal. Shortly before 12:30, Sergeant Maxwell made a horrifying discovery. Immediately, every patrol unit rushed to the location where the phone had last been detected. Laken Riley was lying on the ground beneath a large tree.

Her body was partially hidden under dry leaves and dense vegetation. Paramedics immediately began treating her. Shortly afterward, an emergency medical services ambulance arrived and its crew also tried to revive her, but they were unsuccessful. Despite everyone’s efforts, nothing could be done. By then, it was already too late.

 Laken showed obvious signs of severe blunt force trauma to the left side of her head. >> On February 22nd, 2024 at approximately 12:07 p.m., the University of Georgia Police Department received a call from an individual concerned for a friend who had gone jogging at the intramural fields. Our officers responded to that area and immediately began a search of the area to attempt to locate the individual.

Officers located the individuals in the area behind Lake Herrick at approximately 12:38. The individual was unconscious and not breathing and had visible injuries. Officers immediately began rendering medical aid. Emergency medical responders determined that the individual was deceased upon their arrival. >> Laken Riley’s body was found 64 ft or approximately 19 and 1/2 m from the nearest trail.

 The dry leaves in the area had clearly been disturbed. Near the scene, investigators found two rocks with traces of blood on them. Later testing confirmed that the blood belonged to Laken. Investigators believe that one or both of the rocks may have been used during the attack. Laken’s cell phone was found several hours later beneath another tree.

 It was a considerable distance from where her body had been discovered. Had authorities not already known that this was the last location where the phone had transmitted a signal, they likely never would have found it. A fingerprint was clearly visible on the phone screen. Forensic analysis determined that it was a left thumb print and it did not belong to Laken.

The autopsy results indicated that the cause of death may not have been limited to the head trauma alone. Experts also concluded that she had suffered some form of asphyxiation. It was an extraordinarily brutal attack. Data from her smart watch showed that after she came to a sudden stop, Laken remained on the trail for another 4 minutes.

It was during that time that she made the brief call to 911. After that, she moved more than 60 ft, approximately 18 m, into the woods. Investigators believe she may have been dragged there by force or forced deeper into the woods while fighting to defend herself. Her smartwatch continued recording heart activity until 9:28 that morning, 17 minutes after she had stopped running.

When Sergeant Kenneth Maxwell found Laken, her clothing was disheveled and the upper part of her body was exposed. Investigators concluded that the attacker intended to sexually assault her, but ultimately failed to do so. In the early stages of the investigation, authorities had very few leads, so they conducted an exhaustive search of the entire area for any additional evidence.

The trails near the lake were closed. Officers interviewed everyone who had been in the area, seized surveillance footage from nearby buildings, and searched dumpsters and trash containers in the hope of finding any physical evidence the attacker may have left behind or discarded. >> The University Police in cooperation, well, you could all say with um Athens-Clarke County Police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation are continuing to work around the clock to uh resolve this uh crime and to bring anyone involved with it to

justice. >> Among the containers investigators searched was a large blue recycling dumpster located at the back of a parking lot between several apartment buildings. The residential complex was only a few hundred yards from the trails and the intramural fields area used by university students. When officers looked inside the dumpster, they noticed a dark jacket that had been carelessly crumpled and recently thrown on top of the rest of the trash.

The jacket was clearly stained with blood. It also had several long strands of brown hair tangled around and caught on one of its buttons. >> [snorts] >> Oh, [ __ ] >> Yeah. >> There’s hair on the buttons, ripped up sleeves. Um >> Testing confirmed that the blood found on the jacket belonged to Laken Riley. >> [music] >> In total, forensic experts recovered 29 hairs from the garment, all of which matched Laken’s DNA profile.

Many of them showed signs of having been violently ripped directly from her scalp. A major break in the investigation came when detectives realized that a doorbell camera from a nearby home was pointed directly at the recycling dumpster where the jacket had been found. After reviewing the footage, investigators concluded that they had most likely captured Laken’s killer on camera.

At 9:44 on the morning of her death, just 15 minutes after her heart stopped beating, an unidentified man calmly walked up to the blue recycling dumpster. He took off an Adidas cap, looked at it carefully for a few seconds, then put it back on. He tossed the blood-stained jacket into the dumpster and walked away alongside the wall of the apartment building.

When he reached a patch of bushes, he briefly stopped to dispose of several more items. While searching that area, officers found three black disposable kitchen gloves. One of them had a tear that left a hole near the thumb. Laken Riley’s blood was also found on those gloves. The morning after the murder, shortly before 8:30, the University of Georgia police made another extremely important breakthrough in the case.

Near the apartment complex where the jacket and gloves had been found, officers spotted a man wearing a black Adidas cap, identical to the one worn by the suspect captured on camera. That man was identified as Diego Ibarra, a citizen of Venezuela and a resident of the apartment complex. During a document check, he presented officers with a counterfeit green card.

Investigators later determined that Diego lived with several roommates. His two brothers, Argenis Ibarra, who sometimes called Manny, and Jose Ibarra, also known as Victor. A woman named Rosebelly Flores Bello also lived with them. Everyone in the group was in the United States illegally, earning a living through temporary jobs, primarily at local restaurants.

 Diego had also found work in university food services. When the apartment’s occupants were brought outside, University of Georgia police officers focused their attention on Jose Ibarra, also known as Victor, who had just gotten out of bed. Authorities immediately centered their suspicions on the 26-year-old man. Jose had visible scratches on his arms, hands, and the back of his head.

 Later, when officers asked him to remove his shirt, they also found fresh scratches across his back. When asked why his knuckles were red, Jose briefly replied that his hands were simply cold. And when questioned about the numerous fresh injuries, he pretended not to understand. Even though the wounds were plainly visible, he insisted they didn’t exist and was unable to offer the officer any explanation.

During their conversation with police, the entire group remained surprisingly calm. They smoked cigarettes, joked around, and showed no signs of concern. At one point, officers asked Jose to move his hair away from his face so they could get a better look at him. That was when he made an unexpected statement.

 He admitted that he normally wore a cap. As he explained this, he pointed to his brother Diego and said he often wore a cap similar to the black Adidas cap that had been on his brother’s head that morning. After obtaining a search warrant for the apartment, authorities found several black disposable gloves in a kitchen drawer that were an exact match to the blood-stained gloves discarded in the bushes.

During interviews at the police station, both Diego Ibarra and Rosebel Flores Bello identified Jose Ibarra as the man captured on camera next to the dumpster. They also confirmed that the previous day he had been wearing the Adidas cap that belonged to his brother Diego. Those statements were backed up by photographs found on Jose’s cell phone.

At 4:30 in the morning and then again at 5:37, he took selfies wearing the same clothes he was later seen wearing on camera near the dumpster. He even posted those photos online. In the pictures, he was wearing the black Adidas cap and the dark jacket. [music] Forensic testing confirmed that both the cap and the jacket contained Laken Riley’s blood.

Two doorbell cameras from neighboring homes also captured Jose’s movements during the night before and on the day of the murder. The night before, he was wearing the exact same outfit, the same jacket and the same cap. He changed clothes only after committing the crime. At 10:30 the following morning, cameras captured Jose once again.

This time, he was walking toward another dumpster at the apartment complex carrying a plastic bag. Three minutes later, he returned but the bag was no longer in his hands. Investigators determined that approximately 45 minutes later, the trash from that dumpster was collected as part of the regular pickup schedule.

The pattern shirt Jose had been wearing underneath the jacket was never found either in any of the dumpsters or during the search of the apartment. The small crossbody bag that appeared in the surveillance footage was also never recovered. Investigators concluded that those were the items Jose threw into the second dumpster at the apartment complex at 10:30 that morning.

The evidence against Jose Ibarra was extraordinarily compelling. It became even stronger after forensic specialists from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation GBI determined that the left thumbprint found on Laken Riley’s cell phone belonged to Jose. In addition, the DNA recovered from beneath the fingernails of Laken’s right hand also matched Jose Ibarra’s DNA.

That explained the numerous fresh scratches found on his body. All of the evidence pointed to one unmistakable conclusion. Jose Ibarra was the man who attacked Laken Riley and brutally murdered her. >> We are obtaining arrest warrants for Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26 years of age. >> [snorts] >> He lives here in Athens, but is not a US citizen.

 At this time, the the investigation suggests that they had no relationship. Uh he did not know her at all. Um I think this was a crime of opportunity. Uh where he saw an individual, um and uh bad things happened. >> While investigators work to determine the motive behind the crime and build an irrefutable case, public outrage erupted almost immediately.

That reaction only intensified as Jose Ibarra’s past and criminal history came to light. Jose crossed the border between the United States and Mexico with his wife, Leylin Franco, near El Paso in September of 2022. He was taken into custody, but was released shortly afterward and allowed to remain in the United States under conditional supervision.

At the time, citizens of Venezuela were covered by temporary protected status, which allowed them to stay in the United States because of the political instability in their home country, where returning could pose a serious danger. It would take years for Jose’s asylum application to be resolved. In the meantime, he and his brothers continued to draw the attention of law enforcement.

 After Jose was arrested for the murder, it was revealed that during the previous 2 years, there had been at least two occasions when he could have been taken into custody, but that never happened. At first, Jose and Layling moved to the state of New York. There, in September of 2023, he was charged with endangering a child and violating traffic laws.

While working as a food delivery driver, Jose was riding a motor scooter with his 5-year-old son, and neither of them was wearing a helmet. New York authorities released him before immigration officials were able to issue a request to detain him. According to immigration records, while living in New York, Jose remained in contact with his brother Diego, who had already rented an apartment in Athens, Georgia.

Diego told him that it was possible to find work in Athens. In October of that same year, Jose and Rosebelli Flores Bello, whom he had met in Queens, took a humanitarian flight to Georgia, where they reunited with Diego and Manny. Shortly after arriving, Diego and Jose were detained for shoplifting merchandise from a Walmart store.

It was the second time since being released at the border that Jose could have been taken into custody. However, at that time, there was no procedure in place to verify immigration status before making an arrest. Since no formal charges were ever filed against the brothers, they were simply issued a court summons and released once again.

Because the case unfolded during a presidential election year, the circumstances of the crime and the background of the man accused of murdering Laken Riley quickly made it one of the most controversial issues in the country. It was widely debated in the news media, across social media, and became a major topic in both state and federal politics.

Republican Congressman Mike Collins of Georgia, who had recently been elected to the House of Representatives, introduced a bill that would require the mandatory detention of any immigrant who committed robbery or theft. The legislation became known as the Laken Riley Act. At the same time, critics of the bill argued that its wording contained controversial provisions and could lead to ambiguous enforcement of the law.

>> It was an act committed by an individual, not a community of people. When we want to respond quickly to something, we have to make sure that we’re not just um reacting, but that the resources are there to help uh that there’s people are paying close attention to make sure that they actually are solving a a problem that needs to be solved.

>> Supporters of the bill argued that if the Laken Riley Act had already been in effect at the time, Laken Riley’s killer would not have remained free and would not have been able to brutally attack and kill her. In March of 2024, the bill passed the House of Representatives by a wide margin. Over time, the case became a symbol of the national debate over immigration policy.

It was mentioned during the president’s State of the Union address to Congress and was repeatedly used as one of the central talking points by representatives of both major political parties throughout the presidential campaign. However, all of that intense political attention surrounding the tragedy brought no comfort to Laken’s family.

On the contrary, her loved ones, who were struggling with a devastating loss, were deeply unhappy that her death had become the subject of political battles. >> One week ago, a beautiful 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia was barbarically attacked, almost unrecognizable, while she was out on her morning run.

She was a morning run. She was doing a keep herself in shape. She was a beautiful young woman. She was a great person, best nursing student there was. >> an illegal immigrant, and he shouldn’t have been in our country, and he never would have been under the Trump policy. >> Former President Trump said he met with Laken Riley’s family backstage and says he promises to fight for justice for her and her family.

>> Laken Laken Riley, an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right. But, how many of the thousands of people being killed by illegals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you having lost children myself. I understand. >> I feel like she’s being used somewhat politically. >> How do you feel about that? >> It makes me angry.

 She’s was much better than that. She should be raised up for the person that she is. You know, you second-guess everything. And, you know, you wish there was more security cameras, more security where she was running. I wish she was running with friends. She decided not to run with friends that day. She usually does.

 I wish I could have been there to protect her. Wish it would have been me. >> Jose Ibarra’s trial was scheduled to begin in November of 2024. He was charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and aggravated battery due to the extreme brutality of the attack, false imprisonment and kidnapping for forcibly dragging Laken from the trail into the woods, interfering with a 911 emergency call, attempted rape, and peeping Tom.

In total, he faced 10 charges. It was those final charges that allowed investigators to understand the state 26-year-old Jose was in that morning and what had happened before the attack. Around 6:50 on the morning of the murder, security cameras captured a suspicious man loitering near a bus stop.

 He was dressed in dark clothing and was carrying a white disposable cup. The location was next to the trail leading to the back of the apartment complex where Jose lived. The footage showed a hooded jacket, a crossbody bag, a cap, and black gloves, items investigators determined belonged to Jose. The recording showed that before 8:00 that morning, the man approached the door of one of the apartments six different times.

On two of those occasions, he even tried to open the front door completely. A young graduate student lived in that apartment. While getting ready for class and later taking a shower, she heard suspicious noises near her front door. When she called out to ask who was there, the unknown man immediately crouched down to avoid being seen.

 She immediately called 911. According to her testimony, the man opened the door and then immediately ran away. When she looked out the window, she saw him leaving the area. By the time officers arrived, the suspect was already gone. However, the surveillance footage showed that throughout the entire incident, he had been carrying the white disposable cup and occasionally drinking from it.

Later, that same cup was found near the edge of the woods where Lakins body was discovered. It was located almost exactly halfway between the crime scene and the graduate student’s apartment. DNA testing confirmed that the cup belonged to Jose Ibarra. Investigators also determined that it contained alcohol. >> On February 22nd, Jose Ibarra put on a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket, and some black kitchen-style disposable gloves, and he went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus.

>> To prosecute the case, Clark County appointed special prosecutor Sheila Ross. During the trial, she presented a meticulously built, powerful, and deeply emotional case against Jose Ibarra. The prosecution presented its case before Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Jose voluntarily waived his right to a jury trial.

Apparently, he hoped to avoid any potential bias stemming from the enormous public attention the case had received. The defense attempted to cast doubt on some of the evidence, arguing that the man captured on video near the dumpster could have been his brother, Diego. FBI special agent James Burney testified that he had obtained location data from Jose’s cell phone, as well as geolocation data from Laken’s phone and smartwatch.

By combining all of that information, he was able to reconstruct the movements of both individuals with remarkable precision. GPS data from Laken’s smartwatch confirmed that she had been in the exact wooded area where her body was later found. Records showing Jose’s phone connecting to nearby cell towers, along with the fact that his phone was not connected to any Wi-Fi network at the time of the murder, also indicated that he was in the woods.

The defense demonstrated that on previous days, other people had used Jose’s cell phone, including his brother Diego. However, there was no evidence that anyone other than Jose had used the phone on February 22nd. In addition, on the day of the murder, Diego Ibarra was working in the dining hall at University of Georgia.

 There was also no physical evidence linking him to the crime scene. By contrast, Jose’s DNA was found beneath Laken’s fingernails, and his thumbprint was found on the victim’s cell phone. Throughout the 3 days of testimony, Jose Ibarra showed virtually no emotion. He sat expressionless in the courtroom while the interpreter translated every word of the prosecution’s case.

Laken’s three roommates, Connolly, Lilly, and Sophia, who had desperately searched for her that morning, also testified. As the recording of Laken’s 911 call was played in court, Jose remained silent, staring blankly into space. Only he knew what had happened during that brief minute. He showed no reaction when the court viewed Sergeant Kenneth Maxwell’s body camera footage, which captured the heartbreaking moments after Laken was found in the woods.

Many of Laken’s friends and family chose to leave the courtroom before that footage was shown, unable to bear the emotional weight of watching it. The volume of video evidence presented during the trial was overwhelming. The DNA test results were equally conclusive, leaving no doubt about who had committed the crime.

>> There is no way out for him. The evidence in this case has been overwhelming. And the evidence in this case has spoken loud and clear that he is Laken Riley’s killer and that he killed her because he would she would not let him rape her. And look no further. You have to look no further to his actions 73 minutes before he encountered her on the trail to know what he was up to that day.

And so not only does the physical evidence identify him, the video evidence identifies him, his own brother identifies him, his roommate Jose Ibarra identifies him, his his the people who he was living with condemn him. But his digital evidence of posting selfies of himself wearing what is basically his rapist gear an hour before he leaves his house, that condemns him. He has condemned himself.

>> Judge Patrick Haggard announced a 20-minute recess. When the break ended, he returned to the courtroom to deliver his verdict. >> I’ll now announce the verdict. In the state of Georgia versus Jose Antonio Ibarra, case issue 24 CR0323, count one malice murder, I find the defendant guilty. Count two felony murder, I find the defendant guilty.

>> [snorts] >> Count three felony murder, I find the defendant guilty. Count four felony murder, I find the defendant guilty. Count >> Jose Ibarra was found guilty on every single charge against him. During the sentencing phase, Laken’s mother, Allison Phillips, her stepfather, John Phillips, her younger sister, Lauren, her father, Jason Riley, and many of her closest friends addressed the court.

 In their statements, they spoke not only about the unbearable pain caused by her loss, but also about the extraordinary person Laken was, both inside and out. It was her kindness and generous heart that led Laken to become a nurse. Those same qualities also made her a deeply cherished friend to so many people. She was actively involved in her church, and to her younger sister, Lauren, she was not only her best friend, but also a true role model.

>> I think about how my sister saw exactly what was coming and had no way of preventing it. I think about how scared she must have been and how that man is the only one to truly witness that scene. >> [snorts] >> I’m not sure why he did this to my Laken, and I know I will never understand. I’ve waited for him to have a reason, but as the details of this case have unfolded, I realize I’ll never get any peace or closure.

What Jose Ibarra did to my sister is almost unbearable to listen to. I am completely disgusted having to even look and be in the same room as him. >> [laughter] >> That predator is inhumane and is the epitome of evil. Jose Antonio Ibarra has completely and utterly ruined my life, and I can only hope and pray that he receives a sentence that everyone says.

>> Jose Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In the days following the sentencing, the Clark County District Attorney’s decision not to seek the death penalty sparked a wave of criticism. Georgia State Senator Colton Moore urged the state’s Attorney General, Chris Carr, to file an emergency motion to intervene in the case and seek the death penalty instead.

 However, by that point, the sentence had already been officially imposed. Under the law, there was no legal mechanism that would allow the sentence to be increased once it had been handed down.