Trial begins for the man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley
Associated PressATHENS, Ga. — A Venezuelan man “went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus” earlier this year and ended up killing nursing student Laken Riley after a struggle, a prosecutor said Friday. “When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly,” Ross said, adding that the evidence will show that Riley “fought for her life, for her dignity.” As a result of that fight, Ibarra’s DNA was left under her fingernails, Ross said. The forensic evidence is sufficient to prove Ibarra’s guilt, but digital and video evidence will also show that Ibarra killed Riley, the prosecutor said. Her fight with him was fierce,” Ross said, noting that Riley’s watch data showed her heart was still beating until 9:28 a.m. Ross also played security camera video that shows a man she said is Ibarra at 9:44 a.m. in a parking lot at his apartment complex.