Judge orders mental evaluation for Venezuelan man convicted of killing Laken Riley

ATLANTA — A judge has ordered a mental evaluation of the Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

A judge in November found Jose Ibarra guilty of murder and other crimes in Riley's February 2024 killing and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ibarra is seeking a new trial, and his lawyers asked the judge to order a mental evaluation as part of that process.

Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard's order for a mental evaluation was sent to the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Tuesday, according to a letter filed with the court.

Riley's killing became part of the national debate about immigration during last year's presidential campaign. Ibarra had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay while he pursued his immigration case, federal immigration authorities said after his arrest.

President Donald Trump in January signed into law the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes.

Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22 and killed her during a struggle. Riley, 22, was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) east of Atlanta.

In a court filing last month, Ibarra's post-conviction attorneys, James Luttrell and David Douds, said they believe Ibarra suffers from ''congenital deficiency'' that could make him ''incapable of preparing a defense and standing trial." Ibarra ''lacks the mental capacity" to understand the proceedings, and his attorney wrote that he believes that was the case at the time of the killing and at the time of trial.

Ibarra, 27, had waived his right to a jury trial, meaning it was up to Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard alone to hear and decide the case.

''A criminal defendant must personally and intelligently participate in the waiver of the constitutional right to a trial by jury,'' Luttrell and Douds wrote, noting that Ibarra's trial attorney did not ask for a competency evaluation.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross wrote in a court filing responding to the request that there were ''no challenges or concerns'' about Ibarra's competency prior to trial and that ''there is nothing in the trial record that would suggest that Defendant was not competent during his trial.'' But she wrote that she does not oppose the request for a competency evaluation.

Haggard last week filed an order asking the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to evaluate Ibarra with the aid of a Spanish-language interpreter.

He asked for findings on whether Ibarra was capable of understanding the pretrial proceedings involving the waiver of his right to a jury trial, as well as the trial itself, and whether he was capable of assisting his attorney to prepare his defense. He also wants to know whether Ibarra understands the post-conviction proceedings and can aid in preparing his defense.

Ibarra was convicted on Nov. 20 and his attorneys filed a motion for a new trial on Dec. 2. Under Georgia law, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of a conviction becoming final, which is the date of sentencing or the denial of a motion for a new trial, whichever is later. Therefore, the filing of a motion for a new trial effectively extends the deadline to file an appeal.