A Georgia judge rejected the request for a new trial made by defense lawyers representing Jose Ibarra, who was convicted of killing Laken Riley over two years ago.

Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard sentenced Ibarra, 26, to life in prison without the possibility of parole in November 2024 for murdering the 22-year-old nursing student near her college campus in Athens, Georgia. The illegal immigrant and Venezuelan national was convicted on all 10 counts, including malice murder and felony murder.