The Killing of Laken Riley at UGA: What We Know

U.S.|The Killing at U. of Georgia: What We Know https://www.nytimes.com/article/uga-nursing-student-death.html You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load. A nursing student’s body was found on Thursday at the University of Georgia in Athens. The authorities called the homicide […]

The Killing of Laken Riley at UGA: What We Know

The Killing of Laken Riley at UGA: What We Know thumbnail

U.S.|The Killing at U. of Georgia: What We Know

https://www.nytimes.com/article/uga-nursing-student-death.html

You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.

A nursing student’s body was found on Thursday at the University of Georgia in Athens. The authorities called the homicide “a crime of opportunity.”

A woman with brown hair wearing a blue T-shirt and jeans facing a memorial for Laken Riley.
A memorial for Laken Riley near the lake where her body was found.Credit…Melissa Golden for The New York Times

The body of a 22-year-old woman was found in a wooded area at the University of Georgia in Athens on Thursday, sending shock waves through Clarke County, a community about 70 miles east of Atlanta.

When the authorities revealed that the man charged with the killing was an immigrant from Venezuela, the crime became a political flashpoint.

The victim, Laken Riley, was a nursing student at nearby Augusta University. On Friday, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, was charged with her murder. The two did not know each other, the authorities said.

Many questions remain about the killing, which was believed to be the first in nearly 30 years on the campus. Here’s what we know.

The victim

Ms. Riley was once a student at the University of Georgia.

Ms. Riley was an undergraduate student at the school until the spring of 2023. After that, she enrolled in Augusta University’s nursing program, which has a campus in Athens, school officials said. She was on Augusta University’s fall 2023 dean’s list.

In posts on Instagram, Ms. Riley’s friends described her as a great friend, student and roommate, who loved running, dancing and singing, and who had an infectious laugh.


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