Laken Riley's killer seeks new trial over alleged procedural violations

Jose Ibarra, the illegal immigrant convicted of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, has requested a new trial, with his attorneys alleging that "errors of law" were made that "necessitate a new trial."

In a motion filed Monday, attorneys for Ibarra wrote that the verdict reached by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who delivered the verdict in the case as Ibarra had waived his right to a jury trial, was "contrary to law" and "contrary to the evidence," the Associated Press reported. The filing also stated that the court "committed other errors of law that necessitate a new trial."

While the lawyers did not elaborate, they wrote that Ibarra reserves the right to supplement the motion "after a full and thorough view of the facts and circumstances attendant to the trial of this case."

On November 20, Haggard found Ibarra guilty of all 10 counts against him. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. A notice of appeal under Georgia law must be filed within 30 days of a conviction becoming final, which is either the date of sentencing or the date of the denial of a motion for a new trial, whichever is later. The Associated Press noted that the motion for a new trial "effectively extends the deadline to file an appeal."

Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, had been charged with one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder and one count each of kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, hindering an emergency telephone call, tampering with evidence, and being a "peeping Tom."

Athens District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez said in February that her office would not seek the death penalty for Ibarra and that the office would "take into account collateral consequences to undocumented defendants."

22-year-old Riley was found dead in a wooded section of the University of Georgia campus in Athens after going out for a run that morning. She was found with Ibarra’s DNA under her fingernails, her head smashed in, and her breasts exposed. Prosecutors had said during opening statements that Ibarra "went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus" when he killed Riley.