The roommate of Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan national on trial for the brutal murder of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, testified that Ibarra traveled to Georgia under a Biden-Harris government program. Speaking through an interpreter, the roommate told the court that they and others had been residing at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City when they requested a “humanitarian flight” to Atlanta in September 2023.
It appears the flights being referred to were part of the Biden government’s humanitarian parole program. In August, the taxpayer-funded flights were briefly paused after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) admitted the program was rife with fraud.
During Monday’s court session, prosecutors also presented evidence in the form of a recorded jail-house phone call between Ibarra and his wife, translated by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) analyst Abeisis Ramirez. The call allegedly places Ibarra at the University of Georgia campus at the time of Riley’s death in February.
The wife clearly states she does not believe her husband’s claim of innocence in the death of Laken Riely. “She said that she thinks it’s crazy that they don’t have anyone else’s DNA. They only have his,” Ramirez, translating for Ibarra’s wife, testified to the court. Additionally, the testimony suggests that Ibarra admitted seeing the body of the 22-year-old nursing student to his wife but didn’t call 9-1-1.
Ibarra, 26, has opted for a bench trial, foregoing a jury. He faces multiple charges, including murder, kidnapping, and aggravated assault with intent to rape. Prosecutors highlighted that Ibarra’s DNA was discovered beneath Riley’s fingernails, suggesting she fought back against him. Photographic evidence displayed in court depicts scratches on Ibarra’s arms and hands, reportedly taken soon after Riley’s death.
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