Friday morning, the trial of Jose Antonio Ibarra for the murder of Laken Riley will begin in Athens with opening statements, but the court format will be different than most trials.
Instead of prosecutors and defense attorneys presenting evidence to a jury, attorneys simply need to convince a judge. Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial on Tuesday and moved the proceedings to a bench trial.
Ibarra is accused of attacking and killing Riley on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens on Feb. 22 while she was jogging.
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In the initial legal proceedings, attorneys representing Ibarra took multiple actions to attempt to move the location of the case from Athens due to media coverage and public attention, as well as attempts to suppress genetic, fingerprint, and technological evidence from Ibarra’s social media. bills and telephone.
The judge rejected those claims.
Prosecutors opted not to seek the death penalty. They will present their evidence that the undocumented Venezuelan migrant attacked Riley, suffocated her and attempted to sexually assault her, killing her in the process.
Now the trial begins in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard’s court, where he will hear and decide the outcome after attorneys present their case.
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