Laken Riley's Best Friend Says She 'Can't Do Anything by Herself Anymore' As Murder Trial Wraps

Friends of slain Georgia college student Laken Riley gave emotional witness statements in court on the last day of the four-day-long murder trial, shortly after the judge rendered a guilty verdict upon Jose Ibarra.

“Laken Riley was my best friend, the person I told everything to and the person I trusted with anything. The pain of the last nine months has been indescribable,” Riley’s friend Sophia Palomino, 22, said at the beginning of her statement.

After noting all the things she wouldn’t be able to share with Riley, she tearfully explained how her best friend’s death has impacted her life: “I get to tell you that I can’t do anything by myself anymore, even in broad daylight. I get to tell you that a town I used to love being in just fills me with dread.”

“I tell you the weight of emptiness I feel when I still go to text her sometimes,” Palomino added. “This wasn’t just a life taken; it was a future stolen … The death of my best friend has changed my life forever.”

Connolly Huth, another friend of Riley’s who was among those who notified police of her disappearance, wore one of the late nursing student’s shirts while giving her witness statement.

“As I stand up here today, I am wearing one of Laken’s shirts. This shirt has sat in my closet for months, not because I’m saving it for an occasion, but because I cannot afford not to remember these things like this about her,” Huth said while fighting back tears.

On Wednesday, Nov. 20, Jose Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing the 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student on Feb. 22 while she was out for a jog.

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Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, also shared a heart-wrenching statement after the verdict. “Jose took no pity on my scared, panicked and struggling child.”

“There’s no end to the pain, suffering or loss. On that horrific day, my precious daughter was attacked, beaten, and shown no mercy,” she said. “This sick, twisted, evil coward showed no respect of Laken’s life.”