Timeline: Laken Riley’s last moments retraced during trial on Georgia nursing student’s murder

The last moments before Laken Riley was killed while out on a run on the University of Georgia’s campus were shown in court Tuesday, on the third day of the trial involving the murder of the 22-year-old nursing student.

The Augusta University student was found dead in a wooded area on the Athens campus on Feb. 22.

Jose Ibarra, 26, had pleaded “not guilty” in May to charges of malice murder and felony murder in connection with her death, and he had waived his right to a jury trial. His case was then assigned to a Athens-Clarke County courtroom under Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard.

On Wednesday, Ibarra was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Prosecutors said Riley “refused to be his rape victim.”

Ibarra was an undocumented migrant, was charged with which became a rallying cry for immigration reform from many conservatives, including President-elect Donald Trump.

Timeline of Riley’s last moments

On the morning of the murder, at 8:55 a.m., Riley texted her mother, Allyson Phillips, “Good morning, about to go for a run if you’re free to talk,” according to University of Georgia Police Sgt. Sophie Raboud, one of the lead investigators in the case, who testified on Tuesday about Riley’s cellphone activity.

Riley called her mother at 9:03 a.m., then started listening to music, Raboud said. She was captured on a trail camera at 9:05 a.m. running with her iPhone in her left hand toward the intramural fields, Raboud said. She runs out of view of the camera at 9:06 a.m.

At 9:11 a.m., she called 911, Raboud said. Witnesses previously testified that Riley initiated the call through the SOS application on her phone. The dispatcher was not able to speak with anyone before the call was hung up and called back twice with no answer, the witnesses said.

At 9:24 a.m., Riley received a call from her mother that went unanswered, Raboud said.

At 9:38 a.m., her mother texted, “Call me when you can,” Raboud said.

Raboud said Riley’s mother continued to try to reach Riley but the calls went unanswered, before texting at 9:58 a.m., “You’re making me nervous, not answering when you’re out running. Are you OK?”

Riley received subsequent calls from her mother and sister that went unanswered, Raboud said.

At 11:47 a.m., her mother texted, “Please call me, I’m worried sick about you,” Raboud said.

Subsequent calls, including from her stepfather, also went unanswered, Raboud said.

Trail camera footage from later that morning shown in court captured Riley’s roommates, Lilly Steiner and Sofia Magana, on the trail searching for her.

Riley’s roommates reported her missing at 12:05 p.m., and a University of Georgia police officer found her body 65 feet off the trail at 12:38 p.m., witnesses previously testified. Data from the Garmin watch she was wearing on her run showed her heart stopped at 9:28 a.m., witnesses previously testified.

Riley had sustained significant blunt force trauma to her head, including eight injuries to the left side of her skull and an injury just above her right temple, Dr. Michelle DiMarco, who conducted her autopsy, testified on Tuesday. One of the injuries was significant enough that it caused brain bleeding and could have been fatal, she said.

There was also evidence of asphyxiation, though DiMarco said she was unable to categorize how that occurred. Her cause of death was determined to be the “combined effects of blunt force head trauma and asphyxia,” DiMarco said.

DNA evidence matched Ibarra, expert says

Ibarra was interviewed on Feb. 23 in connection with her death and had multiple scratches observable on his arms, police testified.

The suspect’s DNA was found under Riley’s right fingernails, according to Ashley Hinkle, a crime lab scientist at the Georgia Bureau Of Investigation who tested the evidence. The probability of the DNA belonging to anyone other than Ibarra was one in 10 billion, she said during testimony on Tuesday. Ibarra’s two brothers were excluded as matches, she said.

A man was captured on a trail camera the morning of the murder heading toward the intramural fields shortly before 8 a.m., Raboud said. Prosecutors said the person was wearing clothes similar to what Ibarra had on in a Snapchat selfie posted earlier that morning, including a black Adidas cap.

Ibarra was also seen discarding a bloodied jacket and disposable gloves near his apartment on Feb. 22 at 9:44 a.m., prosecutors said.

Hairs removed from the jacket were determined to have originated from Riley or “someone with hair possessing the same distinct characteristics,” Anne Kisler-Rao, with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab, testified on Tuesday.

Riley’s and Ibarra’s DNA profiles were found on the jacket, Hinkle testified. Ibarra’s two brothers were excluded as matches, she said.

Riley’s DNA was also found on the gloves, Hinkle said. The probability of it not being her is 1 in 500 octillion, she said. The gloves contained the DNA profile of at least one other person, though no determinations were made on who that could be, she said.

The defense tried to discredit some of the DNA testing, which included a relatively new method called TrueAllele, as well as questioned how the statistical probabilities on matches could vary so wildly. Hinkle said the GBI has validated the TrueAllele program, and that the probabilities varied based on the item being tested.

The gloves, which were recovered from a bush near Ibarra’s apartment, were determined to have matched ones recovered from a drawer in his apartment, GBI specialist Alexander Covin testified on Tuesday. Under cross by the defense, Covin admitted that the gloves may have matched but could also have come from different sources.

Ibarra waives his right to testify in his own defense

The state rested its case on Tuesday.

Ibarra waived his right to testify in his own defense.

One of the defense witnesses included a woman who lived in the same apartment complex as Ibarra, who shared his apartment with multiple people, including his two brothers, Diego and Argenis.

The witness, Stephanie Slaton, testified that Diego Ibarra threatened her the night of Riley’s murder. She said he asked her about the police activity at their apartment complex’s dumpster, and she told him that someone had “passed away in the back of our apartment.”

She said she told him that if had seen anything or heard anything out of normal, “you need to say something now” to police. Using an app to translate his words from Spanish to English, she said he wrote her, “If you tell them, I would tell them that you did it and then I will kill you, too.”

Under cross-examination, Slaton said she told the Georgia Bureau of Investigators about that interaction with Diego Ibarra. Asked what he was referring to when he said “tell them,” Slaton said, “I can’t speculate on what his intentions were.”

Diego Ibarra was set to be called as a defense witness on Tuesday, though defense attorney John Donnelly told the judge that the brother’s attorney plans to advise him not to testify because he has a sentencing pending on federal charges.

Diego Ibarra was arrested for possessing an illegal visa, after being questioned by police in the Riley case. He has pleaded guilty to possessing a fraudulent green card. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison to be followed by up to three years of supervised release.

Haggard said if the attorney does not want Diego Ibarra testifying, there is no reason to try and go forward with him.

Donnelly also indicated there is another federal prisoner whom the defense would like to call as a witness if Diego Ibarra doesn’t testify.

“We then would ask to call our next witness and allow him to testify to statements that he heard from Mr. Diego Ibarra, since Diego Ibarra is now unavailable,” Donnelly said.

Ibarra is found guilty and sentenced

The trial resumed for its fourth day on Wednesday without any additional defense witnesses ultimately being called.

Haggard found Ibarra guilty on all charges and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, honoring requests by Riley’s family and friends.

“Today, the integrity of our judicial process and the pursuit of justice transcended political considerations,” remarked District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, whose circuit includes Athens-Clarke County.

“No sentence can undo the harm caused by Jose Ibarra’s actions, but we hope it brings justice to Laken’s family and the community,” she added. “Our hearts remain with Laken’s family and friends as they continue to grieve this tragic loss.”

Police have said they believe Ibarra — a migrant from Venezuela who officials said illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 — did not know Riley and that this was a “crime of opportunity.”

ABC News’ Janice McDonald contributed to this report.