Cause of death of UGA student Laken Riley revealed, culprit charged with murder

Laken Riley, a 22-year-old student, was found dead after going for a jog around the University of Georgia campus. A deeply saddening case took place on February 22, 2024, and has left everyone in shock about the safety of students inside the university campuses.

Riley was a nursing student who was enrolled at the Augusta University College of Nursing in September of 2023. She was enrolled as a junior and was on the Dean’s list as well. Everyone who knew Riley described her as a beloved person.

However, on one random Thursday, her life took a horrifying turn when she went to have a jog at the University of Georgia campus. Let’s look into the further details of this case.

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Laken Riley’s Killing Case

The dead body was found in a forested area of the UGA campus (Image by Freepik on Freepik)

On February 22, Laken Riley had reportedly gone out for a run at the intramural fields of the UGA campus. When she did not return until noon, one of Riley’s concerned friends called the university police to inform them that she was missing.

Just 20 minutes after receiving this call, the police reached the scene and began searching around the area. It was not very far from the intramural fields that they found Riley’s dead body. The police's statement published on the website of UGA said:

“She was unconscious and was not breathing, and had visible injuries.”

Riley’s body was found in a secluded forest area around the intramural fields, which was behind Lake Herrick. Further investigation was carried out and on the very next day, a man named Jose Antonio Ibarra was arrested by the police on the charge of murdering Laken Riley.

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Laken Riley's cause of death revealed

Laken Riley’s cause of death was revealed as blunt force trauma to the head (Image by DC Studio on Freepik)

After recovering Riley’s body from the campus, the police investigated the case thoroughly and the culprit came out to be a 26-year-old man named Jose Antonio Ibarra, who was arrested the following day.

Ibarra is a Venezuelan national, who illegally entered the United States in September 2022. He was allowed to stay with his wife in the US to pursue his immigration case. Ibarra was not enrolled at UGA and his reason for being present at the spot is still unknown. His motive behind killing the innocent student is also not known.

The cause of death of Laken came out to be “due to blunt force trauma to the head," according to the statement given to People by Sonny Wilson, the Coroner at the Athens-Clarke County Coroner’s Office and Morgue. However, the object used to hit Riley’s head has not been specified.

Ibarra has been booked for felony murder, aggravated assault, aggravated battery (causing injury to skull), kidnapping, and concealing the death of another.