Laken Riley's Suspected Killer Was Arrested and Let Go in NYC, According to Wife
The route that took illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra from Venezuela to Georgia, where he has been arrested in connection with the murder of student Laken Riley, went through New York City, according to the suspect’s wife.
Layling Franco, 23, also of Venezuela, told the New York Post she and Ibarra were put on a bus to New York City in September 2022 after illegally entering the U.S. near El Paso, Texas, along with Franco’s five-year-old son.
She said that Ibarra worked for DoorDash, Uber Eats and a local restaurant, but was arrested in August on a charge of endangering the welfare of a child.
The Post said it was told by police sources it did not name that Ibarra was charged with driving a gas-powered moped while Franco’s son was also riding on the moped without head protection or restraint.
15-26 million protested in 2020 on behalf of a criminal who died while resisting arrest with a fatal dose of fentanyl in his system.
How many will march for Laken Riley?
Will there be streets named after her?
Will she have her own televised funeral?
Will they be kneeling for… pic.twitter.com/qBrPPp160s
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 24, 2024
The case was sealed eventually, the Post said.
Franco said the couple split up in November. At that time, Ibarra went to Georgia to live with his brother, Diego, 29.
“We got married so we could join our asylum cases,” Franco said. “He was the person I thought I could see through. We’ve known each other our entire lives.
“He wasn’t aggressive, none of that,” she said.
“We had problems as a couple but our problems weren’t physical. We wouldn’t punch but we’d raise our voices,” she said.
Franco said Ibarra left New York City “because he wanted to get a better job in Georgia.”
The Post report quoted sources it did not name as saying that Ibarra came to New York City in December for a court appearance related to his immigration status.
On Friday, University of Georgia Police Chief Jeff Clark said they had no motive for Riley’s murder.
Ibarra “did not know her at all. I think this was a crime of opportunity,” said Clark, according to WSB-TV.
“He did not attend school at the University of Georgia,” said Clark. “This was an individual who woke up with bad intentions that day.”
A police incident report said Riley was found beaten to death about 30 minutes after she was killed.
In a statement sent to Fox5 in Atlanta, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Ibarra “is a citizen of Venezuela and was processed for expedited removal but claimed a credible fear of return to Venezuela. He was consequently released from immigration custody pending adjudication of his claim for asylum on April 30, 2023.”
According to the New York Post, Ibarra’s older brother, Diego Ibarra, has been charged with being in possession of a phony green card he used to get a job at the University of Georgia, which said it dismissed him after subsequent paperwork was never filed.
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