GBI Director gives inside look at Laken Riley murder case
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation gave Channel 2 Action News an exclusive look at what led up to the arrest of a man accused of killing a 22-year-old nursing student on the University of Georgia campus.
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Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark WInne spoke to GBI Director Chris Hosy about the murder of Laken Riley and the subsequent arrest of Jose Ibarra last week.
Riley was found beaten to death on a trail on campus after going for a jog.
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“There’s a definite sense of being proud of your agents and every police officer and investigator that’s involved in the incident,” Hosey said. “There’s also, at least for me, a hollow feeling as well because it’s a tragic event that brought us to this point in the first place.”
Hosey said a collection of evidence started to point investigators to Ibarra.
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Hosey said he was in an executive training program along with UGA police Chief Jeff Clark last week when Clark suddenly got up and left the class.
“Just a few minutes after he left class I got a notification that the GBI was being requested to assist in the investigation,” Hosey said. “By the time I get the information, we have agents that are en route to the scene.”
Hosey said his agency brought in resources from around the state to assist, including digital forensic investigators, criminal intel analysts and a forensic artist.
“Immediately after this incident took place we notified our crime lab in Atlanta that they would likely be receiving evidence involved in this case and they were quick to be ready for it and start processing an analysis of the evidence that was brought.”
Hosey said the GBI worked side-by-side with UGA police and Athens Clarke-County police and also with state law enforcement personnel, Georgia State Patrol, the Department of Community Supervision and the Georgia Department of Corrections.
Hosey said solving the case to bring resolve was important on many fronts.
“That’s important for family. That’s important for the community. It’s important for the citizens of this state. So that’s why it’s not a hard decision to throw resources at it,” Hosey said. “It’s not a hard decision to work hand-in-hand with University of Georgia police and Athens Clarke County in this team effort to solve it.”
The GBI will continue to be involved in the case as it moves forward.
