Man convicted in Laken Riley's killing asks for a new trial

ATLANTA — The Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley and sentenced to serve life in prison without parole has requested a new trial.

Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Jose Ibarra guilty of murder and other charges in the February killing. Ibarra, 26, had waived his right to a jury trial, meaning Haggard heard and decided the case.

Attorneys for Jose Ibarra on Monday filed a motion for a new trial. The filing says the verdict is “contrary to law” and “contrary to the evidence,” and that the court “committed other errors of law that necessitate a new trial." The lawyers didn't elaborate, but 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.”

The killing became a flashpoint in the national debate about immigration during this year's presidential campaign. Federal immigration authorities said after Ibarra's arrest that he had illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case.

Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22 and killed her during a struggle. Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) east of Atlanta.

Haggard on Nov. 20 found Ibarra guilty of all 10 counts against him and sentenced him to the maximum possible term for each.

Under Georgia law, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of a conviction becoming final, which is the date of sentencing or the denial of a motion for a new trial, whichever is later. Therefore, the filing of a motion for new trial effectively extends the deadline to file an appeal.