ATHENS, Ga. (Court TV) — Defense attorneys for the man accused of murdering nursing student Laken Riley are requesting a hearing to suppress evidence in the case.
Jose Ibarra, 26, was arrested Feb. 23 for the murder of 22-year-old Riley, who was killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus.
Jose Ibarra appears in court Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (Court TV)
In court documents reviewed by Court TV, Ibarra’s defense claims two cellphones, Ibarra’s social media accounts and Google data, and ultimately his DNA were “seized or searched in an unlawful manner.”
The defense claims officers “unlawfully entered his apartment without a warrant” on Feb. 23 and Ibarra was “detained by police in the absence of probable cause.” The defense claims authorities obtained a search warrant after Ibarra was detained.
The motion also claims the search warrants were “not based on probable cause, overboard, and was the fruit of the poisonous tree.”
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A motion also raises issues with DNA testing and fingerprints collected in the case. They claim samples taken during Riley’s autopsy “did not exclude (Ibarra), but also did not exclude another known individual associated in the case.”
An indictment charges Ibarra with 10 charges: malice murder, three counts of felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstruction or hindering a person making emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence and peeping Tom.
Ibarra is accused of attempting to rape Riley, “asphyxiating her” and “seriously disfiguring her head by striking her head multiple times with a rock.” A tampering with evidence charge is for allegations he disposed of his jacket and gloves to conceal the crime.
Ibarra is also accused of spying on a woman at an apartment at the UGA Village Housing complex the day Riley was killed.
Currently, he’s scheduled to go to trial in November. Prosecutors are seeking life in prison without the possibility of parole for Ibarra, who previously pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in the death of Riley.
Ibarra’s attorneys have also filed a motion to move the trial from Athens-Clarke County due to media coverage, which prosecutors oppose.
