The Venezuelan migrant accused in the shocking murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has been indicted on charges for allegedly peeping at a University of Georgia staff member on the same day as the slaying.
Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegally living in the US, was hit with 10 new charges on Tuesday, including malice murder and kidnapping with bodily injury in the death of Riley, who was attacked while out for a run at the University of Georgia campus in Athens on Feb. 22, according to court documents obtained by Fox News.
Ibarra is accused of killing 22-year-old Riley by inflicting blunt-force trauma to her head and “asphyxiating her in a manner unknown to jurors,” the indictment states.
The grand jury also indicted Ibarra on counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a person from making a 911 call, tampering with evidence and being a “peeping tom,” according to the court documents.
He was spotted “peeping through” a window of an on-campus apartment and spying upon a university staff member the same day he killed Riley, the indictment alleges.
Ibarra lived in an apartment near the edge of campus, not far from where Riley was running, and allegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark called a “crime of opportunity.”
Riley was found dead about five minutes away from Ibarra’s apartment.
The accused killer entered the US illegally in El Paso, Texas, on Sept. 8, 2022, with his wife and her son seeking asylum, and was later released “for further processing,” according to ICE.
He later wound up in New York City, where he was spotted by cops riding a scooter in Queens with his 5-year-old stepson on board not wearing a safety helmet or required child restraints.
Ibarra was charged with a felony and released.
He then left the five boroughs to join his brother, Diego Ibarra, in Athens, Georgia, not far from the university campus where Riley was beaten to death.
Diego Ibarra has been charged with green card fraud and had been linked to a Venezuelan gang in the U.S., according to court documents.
Riley, a former nanny who transferred from the University of Georgia to the nearby Augusta University School of Nursing last year, was remembered by her family as “an amazing daughter.”
“We wish to thank the public for their prayers and thoughts during this tragic time,” the coed’s family said.
“Laken was an amazing daughter, sister, friend and overall person in general. Her love for the Lord was exemplified in every aspect of her life. She will be missed every day, but we promise to honor her life moving forward in a very big way,” they said.
