Laken Riley murder case: Jose Ibarra waives right to jury trial, asks for bench trial

ATHENS, Ga. — The suspect in the Laken Riley murder trial waived his right to a jury trial and instead requested a trial by judge.

The motion came during a pretrial hearing for Jose Ibarra on Tuesday. Jury selection had been scheduled to start on Wednesday.

The judge granted the motion for a bench trial.

Investigators said Ibarra killed Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University, on February 22 while she was out jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus. Ibarra entered a plea of not guilty.

There have been several motions in the case over the past few months.

Defense attorneys representing Ibarra filed a motion in September to suppress evidence collected in the days and months after Riley’s death. The motion claims some evidence seized by authorities was collected in “an unlawful manner.”

A judge ruled last week that prosecutors can use evidence such as fingerprints on Ibarra’s phones and ruled the search warrants were properly executed.