Jose Ibarra was 'hunting for females' before assaulting Laken Riley, bashing her to death with a rock: prosecutor

Laken Riley's murder trial has started in the Athens-Clarke County Superior Court with the prosecution's opening statement alleging that illegal immigrant suspect Jose Ibarra was out "hunting for females" when he murdered the nursing student in Georgia.

According to the opening testimony from prosecutor Sheila Ross, Ibarra “went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus" when he killed Riley. Riley's body was found with Ibarra's DNA under her fingernails, her head smashed in, her pants pulled down, and her breasts were exposed. 

"On February 22nd, Jose Ibarra put on a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket, and some black kitchen-style disposable gloves, and he went hunting for females on the University of Georgia's campus. And in his hunt, he encountered 22-year-old Laken Riley on her morning jog. And when Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly. That is what this case is all about," Ross stated.

Ross added that Riley fought for her life, and caused Ibarra to leave forensic evidence behind, citing that DNA from Ibarra was found under Riley's fingernails and a thumbprint from Ibarra was found on Riley's iPhone.

The prosecution also played the 911 call that Riley was able to initiate when she was being attacked by Ibarra. The 911 operator could be heard on the other end of the line, repeatedly searching for an answer, however, most of the call from Riley's side was silent, aside from large thud sounds that were picked up in the audio.

Additionally, a muffled male voice was briefly heard on the other end before the call cut out.

According to CNN, the defense attorney, John Donnelly, claimed that the evidence presented was only circumstantial. “The evidence in this case is very good, that Laken Riley was murdered,” Donnelly said in his statements. “The evidence that Jose Ibarra killed Laken Riley is circumstantial.”

Donnelly claimed that if “the presumption of innocence is respected, there should not be enough evidence to convince [the judge] beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr. Ibarra is guilty of the crimes charged."

Ibarra is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela and is suspected of being involved in the bloodthirsty Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua.