Prosecutors Describe Slain College Student Laken Riley's Final Moments: 'She Fought for Her Dignity'

The man accused in the February killing of Georgia college student Laken Riley was “hunting” for women on the day of the attack, prosecutors alleged on the first day of his trial. 

Riley, a 22-year-old Augusta University student, disappeared during a jog on Feb. 22 on the University of Georgia campus before she was found dead.

Investigators arrested 26-year-old Jose Ibarra in connection with her death.

On Friday, Nov. 15, prosecutors alleged in an Athens County, Ga., court that Ibarra was out “hunting for females” on University of Georgia’s campus on the day of Riley’s killing, per the Los Angeles Times, AP and NBC News.  

“When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly,” prosecutor Sheila Ross said during Friday’s opening statement, per the outlets. 

Riley “fought for her life, for her dignity” during Ibarra’s alleged attack, Ross said in court. 

“In that fight she caused this defendant to leave forensic evidence behind,” the prosecutor said, per NBC News. 

The evidence presented in the trial will include Ibarra’s DNA, which was found under Riley’s fingernails; a jacket allegedly found with both Riley’s and Ibarra’s blood; and what prosecutors allege are Ibarra’s fingerprints on Riley’s phone, Ross said, per NBC News.

In court, Riley’s roommate Lilly Steiner spoke about the victim.

“Laken brought a sense of joy to all of our lives that has been missing ever since,” she said, according to NBC News.

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Riley died from blunt force trauma to the head, Sonny Wilson, the coroner at the Athens-Clarke County Coroner’s Office and Morgue, previously confirmed to PEOPLE. 

Ibarra has been charged with several offenses, including murder, kidnapping and assault, according to online court records previously cited by PEOPLE. 

He is a Venezuelan citizen who immigration officials said entered the country illegally in 2022, per CBS, the Los Angeles Times and ABC News. 

Ibarra has pleaded not guilty to the charges, per ABC News, WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.