Prosecution seeks to bar media from broadcasting images of Laken Riley’s body

By Joe Johnson

As the Laken Riley murder trial gets underway this morning, one of the first orders of business for the presiding judge will be to decide on a prosecutor’s motion to bar the media from broadcasting images of the slain nursing student’s body.

The motion was filed Thursday by Special Assistant District Attorney Sheila Ross, who asserts that the request was for Judge H. Patrick Haggard to use his legal discretion to protect the privacy and dignity of the 22-year-old murder victim.

The motion states that “there would be a substantial likelihood of harm arising from the dissemination of autopsy and crime scene photos of Laken Riley’s body by the media… The images are dehumanizing and it would serve no public interest to broadcast them.”

The defendant is Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela.

Jose Antonio Ibarra

He is alleged in a 10-count indictment to have killed Riley on February 22 during a sexual assault on a University of Georgia running trail by bludgeoning her head with a rock and choking her.

The indictment charges Ibarra with malice murder, three counts of felony murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault with intent to commit rape, aggravated battery, interference with a 911 emergency call, and tampering with evidence.

Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial, so Haggard alone will sit in judgment on the defendant’s fate.

The bench trial will be broadcast on live television by Court-TV, among other outlets