Laken Riley’s phone called 911 during her murder
By Web Staff
Click here for updates on this story
ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — An open records request unveils new details about the death investigation of a nursing student killed on the University of Georgia campus last month.
Laken Riley’s phone made a call to 911, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department confirmed in its answer to Atlanta News First’s request for records related to the incident. However, on Tuesday, the request for the call was declined, pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72 (a) (26.1), which states that investigators can withhold it when a death is captured on the recording.
The request by Atlanta News First was made so that we could better understand what led to her death — along with what the response by law enforcement was. The tragedy happened during the nationwide AT&T outage, so we also wanted to make certain that this didn’t hamper Riley’s attempt to call for help.
On Wednesday, an Athens-Clarke County Police lieutenant told Atlanta News First that “no dialogue exists,” adding that “911 calls are part of the investigation,” saying that is why they will not be released.
It is unclear if Riley herself made the phone call, as well as what time the phone call was made. One of the multiple charges against Jose Ibarra, the 26-year-old accused of killing her, is obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call.
On Feb. 22, Riley’s roommate called campus police after Riley did not return from a run at the university’s intramural fields. Less than an hour later, police found Riley’s body behind the nearby Lake Herrick with “visible injuries.” The coroner’s office would later identify the cause of death as blunt force trauma, and Ibarra’s arrest warrants allege he “disfigured” her skull by hitting her with an unknown object.
Alongside hindering an emergency call, Ibarra’s other charges include malice murder, felony murder, concealing the death of another person, kidnapping, false imprisonment, aggravated assault and aggravated battery. He remains in Clarke County Jail with no bond.
In a press conference, UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark said Ibarra didn’t know Riley and it was an alleged “crime of opportunity.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
