Heartbreaking police bodycam footage captured the moment Laken Riley's devastated family arrived at the scene of her murder and were told she was killed.
In the footage, Riley's parents Allyson and John and sister Lauren were seen breaking down and weeping after the news of Laken's slaying was broken to them.
'Oh my god, oh my god,' her mother could be heard screaming. She then lay on the ground with her head in her hands, while Laken's sister and father bawled on the side of the street.
As the footage ended, which was played at the conclusion of the trial of Laken's killer Jose Ibarra, prosecutors summed it up: 'That it what they endured.'
The footage drew gasps at the trial, where Ibarra, 26, an illegal immigrant, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of the student.
The Venezuela native, a member of the infamous Tren de Aragua who had pleaded not guilty to the 22-year-old's February murder at the University of Georgia, stared coldly as the verdict was read while his victim's family sobbed in court.
Ibarra remained stone-faced as he learned he would spend the rest of his life behind bars. Prosecutors had declined to seek the death penalty in the case.
Heartbreaking police bodycam footage captured the moment Laken Riley's devastated family arrived at the scene of her murder and were told she was killed
'Oh my god, oh my god,' her mother could be heard screaming. She then lay on the ground with her head in her hands, while Laken's sister and father bawled on the side of the street
Laken Riley's killer Jose Ibarra has been found guilty of her murder on Wednesday
Ibarra did not show emotion as Riley's heartbroken mother pleaded with the judge to give the killer the maximum punishment.
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found him guilty after he waived his right to a jury trial. The trial began on Friday.
Ibarra was convicted of all 10 counts against him: malice murder, felony murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, evidence tampering and being a peeping Tom.
The case fueled the immigration debate during this year's presidential election.
President-elect Donald Trump reacted to the verdict, writing on Truth social: 'JUSTICE FOR LAKEN RILEY! The Illegal who killed our beloved Laken Riley was just found GUILTY on all counts for his horrific crimes.
'Although the pain and heartbreak will last forever, hopefully this can help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family who fought for Justice, and to ensure that other families don’t have to go through what they have.
'We love you, Laken, and our hearts will always be with you. It is time to secure our Border, and remove these criminals and thugs from our Country, so nothing like this can happen again!'
Riley's body was found less than an hour after she was reported missing, near a lake on the University of Georgia campus
Family members and friends of Laken Riley react as Superior Court as Judge H.A Patrick Haggard announces the verdict on Wednesday
Riley's body was found less than an hour after she was reported missing, near a lake on the University of Georgia campus. She had been a student there until 2023, when she transferred to Augusta.
Her roommates had reported her missing after becoming concerned that she had been out for longer than usual.
Prosecutors called more than a dozen law enforcement officers for the trial, as well as Riley’s roommates and a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra.
Riley fought for her life for 18 minutes while Ibarra attempted to rape her before having her life snuffed out. DNA evidence found on her body later tied him to the crime.
The picture was taken on CCTV cameras near her home on the University of Georgia campus at 9.05am on the day of her death. She was holding her iPhone in her left hand, wearing all black activewear and her noise-canceling AirPods
Riley's parents Allyson and John Phillips (center and right) were filled with emotion as the trial kicked off on Friday
'She marked her killer for the entire world to see. It is his DNA. Only his DNA, underneath Laken's right fingernails,' Georgia special prosecutor Sheila Ross said.
'He left behind his thumbprint on her iPhone, which was found near her body at the crime scene.'
Defense attorney Dustin Kirby said in his opening that Riley’s death was a tragedy and called the evidence in the case graphic and disturbing. But he said there was not sufficient evidence to prove that his client killed Riley.
Defense attorneys called a police officer, a jogger and one of Ibarra’s neighbors on Tuesday and rested their case Wednesday morning.
On Friday prosecutors said Ibarra's DNA was a direct match to the DNA under Riley's fingernails, and was '10 billion times more probable than a coincidental match.'
During the trial's first day, officials also showed images of suspicious scratches on Ibarra's body at the time of his arrest.
The judge said that as he listened to the closing arguments, he wrote down on a legal pad two things the lawyers had said. He noted that prosecutor Sheila Ross called the evidence 'overwhelming and powerful' and that defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck reminded him he was 'required to set aside my emotions' in making his ruling.
Ibarra illegally entered the US through US-Mexico border in 2022 and was allowed to stay in the country while he pursued his immigration case.
He has been identified as a member of the brutal Tren de Aragua gang.
Scratches of varying lengths were identified by officers, pictured and submitted as evidence in the case against him
Donald Trump met backstage at his Rome, Georgia rally on Saturday with the family and friends of Laken Riley, including the roommate who reported her missing
On Monday, the court saw images of Ibarro's brother and roommate, Diego Ibarra, who has a tattoo of a five-point crown of his neck, a symbol of association with the TDA.
TDA became a national story after shocking footage showed apparent members taking over an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. The gang started in Venezuela's prison and has spread through the western hemisphere as the oil-rich nation goes through the worst migrant crisis in the world.
Also on Monday, Ibarra's other roommate Rosbeli Elisber Flores-Bello told the court that she moved to Georgia because Diego Ibarra had told the alleged killer there were jobs opportunities in Athens.
Flores-Bello said she met Ibarra in Queens, New York, and within a month decided to move to Georgia with him.
Diego Ibarra and a third brother, Argenis Ibarra, pleaded guilty in July to having fake green cards.
When asked how they obtained the plane tickets, Flores-Bello said they were provided by NYC officials.
'In Manhattan, at The Roosevelt Hotel, we asked for a humanitarian flight to Atlanta, on the 9th or 10th of October, 2023,' she testified.
Ibarra was arrested four months later for the student's murder.
