​UGA campus murder victim Laken Riley's alleged killer 'panicked during attack' after illegal Venezuelan migrant was 'overwhelmed by her size,' says criminal profiler

A criminal profiler says the murdered UGA nursing student's killer probably 'panicked' after being 'overwhelmed by her size' during his attack. 

Jose Ibarra, 26, is accused of killing Laken Riley, 22, after kidnapping her between 9 am and 1 pm on Thursday.

Ibarra, an undocumented Venezuelan migrant, is accused of 'seriously disfiguring Riley's body by disfiguring her skull,' and is also charged with preventing Riley from making a 911 call when he allegedly grabbed her. 

After her cause of death was confirmed as blunt force trauma, a profiler from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said that the killer likely became violent after Riley fought back. 

'In this case, the offender was met with resistance which he wasn't expecting, and it got overpowering and he couldn't control it and he restored to violence,' said John Lang Jr., a former GBI investigator and criminal profiler. 

Jose Ibarra, 26, is accused of using a mystery object as a weapon to kill the 22-year-old Augusta University student

After her cause of death was confirmed as blunt force trauma, a profiler from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has said that the killer likely became violent after Riley (pictured here) fought back

Police say Ibarra dragged Riley's body to a secluded area in the UGA campus to conceal the death

'But he didn't know what he was in for and I suspect she probably fought back,' Lang said. 

'He's not a very big fellow and he may have been overwhelmed by her size and her strengths and tenacity to fight back.' 

According to court documents, Ibarra is 5′7″ and 185 pounds. 

Riley's body was found the same day on campus in a forested area near Lake Herrick that includes trails popular with runners and walkers. 

The student had been out jogging on the University of Georgia campus when she was allegedly attacked by Ibarra. 

Arrest documents accuse Ibarra of kidnapping Riley between 9am and 1pm and eventually dragging her body to a secluded area following the attack.

'Concealing her body, that's just an opportunity to distance himself from the crime,' Lang said. 

Ibarra lived in an apartment complex near the trail so legal experts suggested he simply walked from his property onto the trail. 

'That's where the guy lives,' Lang said. 'Anybody could probably predict that's probably where he approached her from at least.' 

Lang explained that when a woman is attacked by a man, investigators can't rule out if the motive was sexual - claiming that only Ibarra can answer for what the true motive was. 

Ibarra was arrested for Riley's murder on Friday, just a day after her remains were found on the Athens campus

Riley studied at the University of Georgia through the spring of 2023 before transferring to Augusta University’s College of Nursing 

'In looking at this whole thing, this is like a disorganized offender. That's what we call them' Lang said. 'He just does it on the spur of the moment for whatever motivating factors.'

Ibarra appeared Saturday in court where he was formally charged with felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, kidnapping and other counts. He was represented by public defenders and remained in custody.

The 26-year-old crossed into El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 but had been released from a detention center due to a lack of space. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said on Sunday he had previously been arrested in NYC.

While ICE has confirmed Ibarra entered the country illegally in 2022, he cannot be deported as Venezuela's regime has stopped accepting deportation flights in retaliation for the Biden administration reinstating sanctions on the socialist nation.

Riley studied at the University of Georgia through the spring of 2023 before transferring to Augusta University's College of Nursing, according to a statement from the University of Georgia, which does not have a nursing program itself. She remained active in the sorority she joined at the University of Georgia.

Murdered nursing student Laken Riley suffered a disfigured skull after being beaten to death by Ibarra, an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant

Ibarra lived in an apartment complex near the trail so legal experts suggested he simply walked from his property onto the trail

Riley's sister, Lauren Phillips, paid tribute to her Friday in an Instagram post, calling her 'the best sister and my built in best friend from the very first second.'

'This isn't fair and I will never understand it but I know you are in heaven with the man you loved most right now,' Phillips wrote.

'I'm not sure how I'm going to do this but it's all going to be for you from now on. I cannot wait to give you the biggest hug someday. I will miss and love you forever Laken.'

UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark told reporters at a press conference Thursday that officers have searched Ibarra's apartment in Athens and evidence shows that he acted alone.