UGA students prepare for vigil to remember slain nursing student
By Rebekka Schramm
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ATHENS, Georgia (WANF) — University of Georgia students are returning to class Monday for the first time since the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley, who authorities said was killed Thursday morning as she jogged near an on-campus lake.
Riley, a Woodstock native who attended Georgia before transferring to Augusta University’s nursing program on the Athens campus, was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority while at UGA.
Two Greek organizations, Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Sigma, have planned a vigil for 3 p.m. Monday at Tate Plaza. They will remember Riley and another student who took his own life last week in an on-campus dormitory.
On Friday, authorities arrested Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26. He’s charged with malice murder, felony murder, and hindering a 911 call, among other charges in connection to Riley’s death.
Ibarra was previously arrested in 2022 after illegally entering the United States near El Paso, Texas, a spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed Sunday. He was also arrested in New York City last year, said Lindsay Williams, the ICE spokesperson. He was charged with “acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation. He was released by the NYPD before a detainer could be issued,” Williams said.
His brother, Diego Ibarra, was also arrested and charged with possessing a fake green card, authorities said.
A UGA spokesperson said Diego Ibarra used a fake green card to get hired for a temporary position as a dishwasher in Bolton Dining Hall in February but was quickly fired after he “failed to submit further documentation required to keep the job.” He was never paid by the university, the spokesperson said.
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