Laken Riley murder suspect accused of ‘disfiguring her skull’ in violent attack when out for jog

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New court documents have revealed disturbing details about the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, accusing her suspected killer of “disfiguring her skull” during the violent attack while she was out for a run.

Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, is facing a spate of new allegations in a newly-filed affidavit, obtained by The Independent on Tuesday, as he faces charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping over Riley’s death.

The affidavit claims that Mr Ibarra used an object to strike Riley, violently “disfiguring her skull” in the attack.

Mr Ibarra committed aggravated assault “by causing great harm with an object,” the filing states.

The affidavit didn’t specify what the object used was.

However, a preliminary autopsy report found that Riley died from blunt force head trauma. The official autopsy report will take several weeks.

Mr Ibarra also allegedly tried to conceal her death by “dragging the victim to a secluded area,” according to the affidavit.

During the attack, Riley also tried to call 911 but was stopped from doing so by her attacker, the filing states.

Riley went for a run on the morning of 22 February on the University of Georgia Intramural Fields. Around noon, when her roommate still hadn’t seen or heard from her, she called the police.

The affidavit states the incident occurred between 9am and 1pm on 22 February.

Mr Ibarra, who is not a US citizen, was arrested on Friday for her murder, with the ICE then lodging a detainer on him. He is currently being held in custody without bond.

Conflicting reports have been uncovered around Mr Ibarra’s background.

In September 2022, Customs and Border Patrol detained him after entering the US near El Paso, Texas, ICE said, and he was then “paroled and released for further processing”.

The agency also said that Mr Ibarra had been arrested by the New York Police Department a year later and was “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation”. New York officials then released him “before a detainer could be issued,” ICE said.

However, the NYPD toldThe Independent that the department has no record of Mr Ibarra’s arrest on file – and so could not confirm whether this account was correct.

It appears Riley did not know her alleged attacker.

“This was a crime of opportunity where he saw an individual, and bad things happened,” UGA Police Chief Jeff Clark said.

Greek organisations on campus remembered Riley on Monday afternoon. “It is so obvious to me why it feels so dark right now and that is because we’ve lost one of the brightest lights there has ever been,” Chloe Mullis, the chapter president of Alpha Chi Omega, of which Riley was a member.

Ms Mullis described the nursing student as “devoted to making this world a better place.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department have joined the university police department in the ongoing investigation.