Laken Riley murder defendant granted request for trial by judge

By Joe Johnson

One day before jury selection was to begin, the man accused of killing nursing student Laken Riley was granted his request for a bench trial.

Western Judicial Circuit Judge H. Patrick Haggard granted the request by attorneys for Jose Ibarra during a hearing Tuesday morning in Clarke County Superior Court.

As the presiding judge for the case, Haggard will listen to witness testimony, weigh the evidence, and decide on a verdict.

Ibarra is charged by a 10-count indictment that alleges he killed Riley on February 22 during a sexual assault on a University of Georgia running trail. He bludgeoned the 22-year-old student’s head with a rock and strangled her, it alleges.

Laken Riley

The indictment charges Ibarra with malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping, aggravated assaul with intent to commit rape, aggravated battery, and interference with a 911 emergency call.

Haggard scheduled the trial to begin at 9 a.m. this Friday at the downtown Athens courthouse.