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Laken Riley murder suspect Jose Ibarra chooses trial by judge over jury

He appeared in court Tuesday, when his defense team and state prosecutors asked Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard for a bench trial rather than a trial by jury, which Haggard granted. The bench trial will begin on Friday.

"This defendant wishes to seek a trial by judge only — a bench trial," state prosecutor Sheila Ross aid in court. "When I was notified of that, the parties have executed a waiver of his right to a trial by jury, and the state has agreed to a bench trial so long as the trial remains before Your Honor and no senior judges are brought in.  I believe we will commence the trial very shortly, so I think that will happen."

Defense attorneys Kaitlyn Beck shuffles papers in a folder as Jose Ibarra, center, accused of killing a nursing student, Laken Hope Riley, appears in court for a motion hearing on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Athens, Ga.  (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool, File)

Riley's parents were in court on Tuesday, sitting in the front row. Her mother, Allyson Phillips, cried briefly at the start of the hearing when Ibarra walked into the courtroom.

Ibarra and his brothers, also in the United States illegally from Venezuela, lived in an apartment building that sits on the edge of the on-campus park where Riley was running. Ibarra allegedly murdered the aspiring nurse in what UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark described as a "crime of opportunity."

In May, a Georgia grand jury indicted Ibarra on counts of malice murder, two counts of kidnapping with bodily injury, two counts of aggravated assault with intent to rape, two counts of aggravated battery, obstructing or hindering a person from making a 911 call, tampering with evidence and being a "peeping Tom."

Jose Ibarra appears in court for a pretrial evidence hearing in Athens, Georgia, on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Ibarra is charged in the death of University of Georgia student Laken Riley. (Robin Rayne for Fox News Digital)

Laken Riley poses for a photo posted to Facebook. Riley, a nursing student at the University of Georgia, was found dead near a lake on campus on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. (Allyson Phillips/Facebook)

The judge is also permitting DNA and cellphone evidence that Ibarra's defense wanted to suppress.

The 26-year-old suspect is due back in court on Nov. 15 for his trial. Jury selection for his trial was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Nov. 13, before he requested a bench trial.

Jose Ibarra was arrested on Feb. 23 in connection with Laken Riley's Feb. 22 murder in Athens, Georgia. (Clarke County Sheriff's Office)

His older brother, Diego Ibarra, is charged with green card fraud and had ties to a known Venezuelan gang in the U.S. called Tren de Aragua, according to federal court documents.

A general view of the area where Laken Riley’s body was found near Lake Herrick on the University of Georgia’s campus in Athens, Georgia, on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024. Jose Antonio Ibarra has been charged with the murder of Riley. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

Riley's death was frequently mentioned throughout the 2024 presidential election as Republicans and Democrats debated the implications of record illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border over the last four years.

Rachel Morin of Maryland, Jocelyn Nungaray of Texas, Lizbeth Medina of Texas, Ruby Garcia of Michigan and Maria Gonzalez of Texas are females allegedly killed by illegal immigrants over the past two years.

Fox News' Chelsea Torres and Lauren Sennet contributed to this report.