Illegal immigrant suspected of killing nursing student Laken Riley 'disfigured her skull': arrest affidavit

The illegal immigrant suspect charged with the killing of Laken Riley, the Augusta University nursing student found dead after going out for a walk at the University of Georgia Campus at Athens, is accused of "disfiguring" her skull in a newly released affidavit.

The affidavit, filed on February 23 in the Superior Court of Athens-Clarke County, charges Jose Antonio Ibarra with felonies of malice murder, murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and concealing the death of another, as well as the misdemeanor of physically hindering a 911 call.

The affidavit states, in relation to the charge of aggravated battery, that he "did commit the offense of aggravated battery when he maliciously causes bodily harm to another by seriously disfiguring her body or a member thereof by disfiguring her skill."

The affidavit also states that Ibarra allegedly "did conceal the death of another person, and/or hinder discovery by dragging the victim to a secluded area."

The affidavit states that the crime occurred between 9 am and 1 pm at the University of Georgia Intramural Fields in Athens, Georgia.

According to the Associated Press, authorities have not yet revealed exactly how Riley was killed, just that her death was the result of blunt force trauma.

Riley was found dead on February 22, after her roommate reported that she hadn’t returned from her morning run. 

A field case report from the day, filled out by Officer Kenneth Maxwell, stated that officers were dispatched to the area at 12:07 pm in response to the missing person report. 

Maxwell arrived at the scene at around 12:17 pm, and moments later he began searching alongside other officers the trails where Riley had been running. 

Maxwell stated that he located Riley at 12:38 pm "lying on the ground and appeared to be unconscious." He and other officers began conducting CPR and an AED was deployed until EMS arrived on scene and took over lifesaving efforts.

"Based on the injuries and Riley’s physical condition, I suspected that foul play was involved," Maxwell wrote, noting that his body camera was in use at the time.

Ibarra is being held without bond. He was revealed to have entered the country illegally in September, and was arrested on child endangerment charges in New York City and was released with charges being sealed.

A GoFundMe set up for Riley’s family has surpassed its goal of $35,000, receiving over $139,000 by Tuesday afternoon. 

"On behalf of our entire family we would like send out a heartfelt thank you for your donations and overwhelming support. 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. Every single dollar donated will go towards starting the Laken Hope Riley Foundation and will be used to drive homicide awareness and safety for women. Again, thank you for your kind support and we love you all," an update posted on Monday stated.