The accused killer of the Georgia nursing student whose case heightened outrage over illegal immigration wants his trial moved. His lawyers say an impartial jury will be impossible to find in Clarke County Georgia. That and other motions were made at a weekend hearing to set the trail date.
Jose Ibarra is charged with murder and other crimes in the February killing of Laken Hope Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University College of Nursing student.
The judge says jury selection will begin Nov. 13. Riley’s killing has become a flashpoint in the presidential campaign debate over immigration because the defendant is from Venezuela and entered the U.S. illegally in 2022.
He was allowed to stay in the U.S. to pursue his immigration case. Ibarra was arrested on February 23rd, the day after Riley’s body was found on a running trail near the edge of the campus.
The coroner says she died of strangulation, prosecutors allege the motive was sexual assault, Ibarra is pleading not guilty.