A female nursing student at Augusta University in Athens, Georgia, was found dead on Thursday, February 22, 2024, near the University of Georgia (UGA). The discovery of the victim’s body has prompted an investigation by local law enforcement, with officials suspecting foul play due to visible injuries found on the victim.
Laken Hope Riley, 22, informed a friend that she was going for a morning jog at the UGA’s Intramural Fields but never returned home. Concerns about her whereabouts led the friend to call police on Thursday afternoon. Shortly thereafter, her body was located in a forested area behind Lake Herrick, near UGA’s intramural fields, around 12:38 p.m.
Augusta University and the University of Georgia (UGA) campuses are approximately 70 miles apart, but the Medical College of Georgia connects the schools. This collaboration extends medical education and training opportunities by offering a campus in Athens, Georgia, which is where UGA is located.
UGA and Augusta University canceled Thursday and Friday classes. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to conduct an autopsy, aiming to determine the precise cause of death.
Officials announced Friday night, February 23 the arrest of 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra from Athens, Georgia. Ibarra is not a UGA student, is not a U.S. citizen, and did not know Riley. UGA Police Chief Jeffrey L. Clark said Ibarra saw Riley and just took the opportunity to kidnap and kill her. While Ibarra’s room is still being searched, Clark said there is enough evidence from campus security cameras, expert police work, information from the community, and physical evidence to charge Ibarra. He assured the public that, despite the ongoing investigation, there is not believed to be an immediate danger to others on campus. This assurance comes amidst heightened concerns, as this death marks the second student death on the UGA campus in 24 hours. The first, which officials say is unrelated, involved another student found dead in a dorm room. Suicide is suspected in that case.
The past few days’ events have deeply concerned students and their parents. “It feels uncomfortably personal,” Veronica Bennett expressed. Bennett, whose daughter is in her third year at UGA, belongs to a collective of mothers advocating for enhanced security measures, which, according to her, the university has dismissed, including the installation of blue safety lights, extending beyond the reliance on the UGA safety app. Bennett voiced her frustration, stating, “As a parent, I’m weary of UGA’s default response being, ‘We have the safety app.’ But the safety app hardly acts as a deterrent,” she remarked.
Reacting to the heartbreaking event, Athens students held a vigil on Thursday night. They voiced their intention to support each other after a particularly troubling 24 hours on campus, with one student noting, “It feels like I need to take even more precautions and be even more vigilant, which is really terrifying.”
The university has issued statements urging students to exercise caution, recommending traveling in groups and avoiding the area near the Intramural Fields where the investigation is ongoing. This death, if ruled a homicide, would be the first in 20 years at UGA, highlighting the unusual nature of such incidents on this campus.
UGA has activated its mental health crisis support services, offering 24/7 assistance to all students. Police are urging anyone with information about the case to come forward as they continue to piece together the events leading up to the student’s death.
