ATHENS, GA. — The father of a nursing student killed on the University of Georgia campus is suing the Board of Regents and the owners of the nearby apartment complex where her convicted killer lived.
On Feb. 22, 2024, Laken Riley went for a jog on the university’s intramural fields and never returned. Police later found her unconscious and injured in a wooded area behind the fields. She died at the scene.
Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan immigrant in the U.S. without documentation, was convicted in Riley’s murder. A judge sentenced him to life in prison without parole. He has since requested a new trial.
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Riley’s father, Jason Riley, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Gwinnett County State Court this week. He is seeking $1 million in compensation for “loss of his daughter’s life and companionship.”
The lawsuit names the University System of Georgia, which oversees the UGA and other Georgia public colleges and universities.
Riley’s father and his attorneys claim the USG did not provide a safe environment in Athens and didn’t notify other students about Ibarra spying on someone at a UGA dorm the same day of Riley’s death.
“Had defendant Board of Regents warned the public, the Athens community, and students such as Ms. Riley of the threat posed by Ibarra, Ibarra would not have had the opportunity to assault and murder Ms. Riley,” it stated.
It also accused the USG of not screening its employees enough when it hired Ibarra’s brother. Diego Ibarra gave a fraudulent green card for a temporary job as a dishwasher in a UGA dining hall.
For the apartment complex where Ibarra lived, the lawsuit claims the property managers didn’t do enough checking into people with a history of violence who are in the country illegally.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to UGA and USG and received the following statements.
“Out of respect for Laken and her family, we have no comment on the recently filed lawsuit,” a UGA spokesperson said in a statement.
“We do not comment on pending litigation,” a USG spokesperson said.
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