He came to Georgia for work, but the man who killed Laken Riley is now in custody. So are his brothers

ATHENS, Ga. — Barring an appeal, the case against Jose Ibarra is closed. This week, the 26-year-old Venezuelan was convicted of killing nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The fate of his brothers, Diego and Argenis, is less clear. Both were arrested for possessing fake green cards and entering the country illegally.

The three Ibarra brothers traveled thousands of miles to enter the United States through Mexico, but now face different journeys through the legal system. Jose Ibarra is set to spend the rest of his days behind bars. Diego Ibarra, 29, has pleaded guilty to the charges against him. Argenis Ibarra, 25, has pleaded not guilty and has a hearing scheduled in December.

The killing and attempted rape of Riley, on a running trail near the university’s intramural fields in February, triggered a landslide of criticism from Republican politicians. They accused the Athens district attorney and progressive-leaning government of enabling a sanctuary city, where local officials provide safe harbor to people who are living in the country without legal permission.

It’s a characterization Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz rejects. ”There’s been no legislation from this government that’s created a sanctuary city,” he said in February.

Testimony during Jose Ibarra’s trial revealed details about how the Ibarra brothers arrived, lived and worked in Athens, the college town that’s home to the state’s flagship public university.

Diego and Argenis Ibarra both entered the United States unlawfully on April 3, 2023, near Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have said. They were returned to Mexico the same day.

But they came back later that month, crossing into the United States illegally near El Paso, Texas, ICE confirmed. Once again, they were caught and detained. Argenis Ibarra was released from custody in May 2023 “with a notice to appear.”

Diego Ibarra was placed by ICE in its Alternatives to Detention program on May 11, 2023, and released from custody the following day with the requirement that he wear an ankle monitor, the agency said. But he cut off his ankle monitor, which was located on the side of a road in Colorado, ICE officials said.

Diego and Argenis Ibarra eventually made their way to Athens.

At the time, Jose Ibarra was living in a car in New York City, according to trial testimony. His wife and mother-in-law were in a Queens hotel that had been converted to a shelter for migrants.

The year before, he had entered the United States near El Paso, Texas, without authorization.

Diego Ibarra repeatedly called his brother — and Rosbeli Flores-Bello, a woman who also was living in the Queens hotel — and encouraged a move to Georgia, Flores-Bello testified.

“He told me that it would be a possibility of finding work” in Athens, she said.

The two did end up coming to Georgia in September 2023.

The three Ibarra brothers, Flores-Bello and another man resided in a cramped two-room apartment at the Cielo Azulyk complex on South Milledge Avenue, a short walk from UGA’s campus.

Jose and Diego Ibarra shared a bed, as did Argenis Ibarra and Flores-Bello. The other man slept on a couch.

They all shared one bathroom. The apartment had a small stove with two burners and was littered with piles of clothes on the beds and floor.

Mostly, they kept to themselves, Diego Ibarra told officers investigating Riley’s killing. “We’re united together,” he said. “We don’t know many people around here.”

Flores-Bello testified she worked at a fast-food joint and later joined Jose and Argenis Ibarra working at a local eatery. Diego Ibarra briefly filled a position as a dishwasher in UGA’s Bolton Dining Hall after presenting a fake green card, the university confirmed. He was never paid and was fired “as soon as his immigration status was discovered,” UGA spokesperson Greg Trevor said.

Diego Ibarra was often late for his shift at the dining hall, located roughly 10 minutes away in the heart of campus, not far from Sanford Stadium. He told Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents he mostly rode the bus, catching it at a stop positioned less than 500 yards from the wooded area where Riley’s body was discovered.

A resident in the complex described the brothers as loud neighbors who would sometimes bang into the walls. She didn’t know if they were fighting or playing. Jennifer Slonaker said they were mostly friendly and occasionally asked for cigarettes.

“They were a little flamboyant, loud and they didn’t seem to have respect for anybody,” she said days after Riley’s killing. “But other than that, they seemed to be OK.

“I never felt like my life was in danger. They never showed me anything like that.”

Diego Ibarra had numerous run-ins with Athens police. In September 2023, he was arrested and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol. He was also apprehended the same month in a domestic dispute. In December, he was charged with shoplifting from Walmart. Records show he bonded out of jail after those arrests.

In between those arrests, Diego also found trouble with Jose. They were accused of stealing about $200 worth of food and clothing from a Walmart on Oct. 27, 2023. They were not arrested and instead issued citations for shoplifting. Bench warrants for their arrest were later issued after they failed to appear in court, records show.

The day after Riley’s killing, police noticed Diego Ibarra wearing a hat believed to be worn by the killer. Diego complied with officers’ request to check for injuries that might have been received in an attack on Riley. They found none.

When officers checked the apartment, they encountered Jose Ibarra, who police said had scratches on his arms, wrists and neck.

Jose was arrested and charged with murder. Diego and Argenis Ibarra were detained the same day and charged with possessing fake green cards.

During Jose’s criminal trial this past week, his defense team suggested that Diego, not Jose, could be a suspect in the killing of Riley.

Prosecutors cited DNA under Riley’s right fingernails and a thumbprint on Riley’s phone that matched Jose Ibarra. On Wednesday, the judge ruled Jose guilty of felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, hindering a 911 call and tampering with evidence. He was also convicted of a Peeping Tom charge.

ICE referred questions about Diego and Argenis Ibarra to the U.S. Marshals Service. A U.S. Marshals spokesperson would confirm only that they are being held at the Crisp County Detention Center in Cordele, one of the jails with a contract to hold federal inmates.

_____