Jose Ibarra is charged with murder and other crimes in the February killing of Laken Hope Riley, whose body was found on the University of Georgia Campus. Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial, meaning his case will be heard and decided by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.

The trial against the illegal immigrant accused of murdering Georgia nursing student Laken Riley began Friday and his fate will be decided by a judge — not a jury. Jose Ibarra — a Venezuelan who illegally entered the US through the southern border — stands accused of killing Riley,

The judge who will decide the fate of an undocumented migrant accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley is a no-nonsense, silvery-white-haired jurist whose father was killed in an armed robbery.

The body of the 22-year-old was found on the University of Georgia campus after a friend told police she had not returned from her morning run.

Jose Ibarra, the suspect in the slaying of Laken Riley, has agreed to a trial before a judge, ending a jury trial scheduled to begin Wednesday.

The defendant, Jose Ibarra, was charged in the killing of Laken Riley, whose body was found on the University of Georgia campus earlier this year.

The defendant’s decision this week to waive his right to a jury could be because ‘the facts are so outrageous that they don't want the jury to rush to