The illegal Venezuelan migrant accused of killing a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student, Laken Riley, in a case that unleashed a national uproar over America’s immigration policy, has been found guilty of all ten charges against him and will serve out a life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. 

The 26-year-old Venezuelan national, Jose Antonio Ibarra, was convicted on Wednesday on charges related to felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and being a “peeping Tom,” by Athens-Clark County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who described the evidence as “overwhelming and powerful.” Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial and the decision was issued on the fourth day of a bench trial. 

President-elect Trump released a statement shortly after the verdict was delivered, declaring that “the illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found guilty on all counts for his horrific crimes.” He continued by claiming that it was time to “secure our border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our country, so nothing like this can happen again.” 

Ibarra, who reportedly showed no emotion during Wednesday’s hearing, was in the country illegally after crossing into the country from Venezuela through El Paso, Texas, in 2022. He was later released into America through parole, according to sources from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Ibarra reportedly ended up in Georgia after hitching a taxpayer funded-flight from Kennedy Airport at New York City to Atlanta six months before he murdered Riley. 

Riley’s murder became a topic of discussion during the election as Republicans criticized the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the border, which, over the past four years, saw record numbers of illegal migrant crossings. 

Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, called the trial “heartbreaking” and applauded “the bravery of Laken’s loved ones for reliving that horrible day to ensure her killer faced the consequences of his senseless actions.” 

Friends and family of Riley, who was studying to be a nurse at Augusta University in Georgia, delivered emotional testimony during Wednesday’s hearing before Ibarra was sentenced. Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, tearfully stated that Ibarra had “robbed us all our hopes and dreams with Laken.” Ms. Phillips urged the judge to sentence Ibarra to life in prison “so that he never gets the chance to hurt anyone else ever again.” 

Riley’s sister, Lauren, described Ibarra as a “predator” who is “inhumane and is the epitome of evil,” adding that “Jose Antonio Ibarra has completely and utterly ruined my life, and I can only hope and pray that he receives a sentence that ruins his.”

Riley was found dead on February 22 after failing to return from a routine jog. Prosecutors claimed that Ibarra was “hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus” before he attacked Riley while she was running through the school’s intramural fields. 

Ibarra reportedly “bashed” Riley’s “skull in with a rock” after a prolonged struggle during which he pulled up her clothing and intended to rape her. Prosecutors said that the young nursing student “fought for her life, for her dignity” for over 20 minutes.