Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - JUSTICE! LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

Jose Ibarra, the sole suspect in the murder of University of Georgia jogger Laken Riley, has been found guilty on all charges. The ten charges include three counts of felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and “peeping Tom.” In emotional testimony, University of Georgia Police Sgt. Sophie Raboud detailed the final moments of Riley’s life, breaking down the timeline into minutes. Before her final jog, Riley texted her mother at 8:55 a.m., asking if she was free to talk. At 9:03 a.m., Riley called her mother. She then listened to music and was seen on a trail camera at 9:05 a.m., holding her iPhone in her left hand as she jogged toward the intramural fields. By 9:06 a.m., Riley ran out of the camera’s view. Minutes later, at 9:11 a.m., Riley activated the SOS function on her iPhone to call 911. The dispatcher was unable to speak with her before the call was disconnected. The dispatcher attempted to call back twice but received no answer. Riley’s phone later received a call from her mother at 9:24 a.m. When Riley failed to respond, her mother sent a text at 9:38 a.m. reading, “Call me when you can.” During closing arguments, State Prosecutor Shelia Ross outlined the evidence supporting each charge, describing Ibarra as “a monstrously guilty individual.” Defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck presented two alternative theories: that DNA was transferred onto clothes found in the apartment, implicating Ibarra’s brother Diego as the murderer, or that Ibarra may have been an accomplice but not the primary culprit. Ultimately, Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Jose Ibarra guilty on all counts.  Joining Nancy Grace today:  Philip Dubé  – Court-Appointed Counsel, Los Angeles County Public Defenders: Criminal & Constitutional Law; Forensics & Mental Health Advocacy Dr. Angela Arnold – Psychiatrist, Atlanta GA. Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital Sheryl McCollum  – Forensics Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder; Host of Podcast: “Zone 7;” X: @149Zone7 Scott Eicher-   founding member of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (C.A.S.T); Historical Cellular Analysis Expert; Former FBI agent of 22 years; Former Police Officer and Homicide Detective with Norfolk Virginia Police Dept. having served 12 years; Currently with Precision Cellular Analysis handling Criminal, Defense and Civil case Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University) Dave Mack - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guilty, guilty on all counts. Illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra, guilty in the brutal murder Murder of UGA co-ed Lakin Riley out for a morning jog. This after murdered Lakin's mother's frantic text to her just before her daughter's body found brutalized. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. And what is the text? It says, good morning, about to go for a run. If you're free to talk.

And did she in fact call her mother? She did. In the last murder of a gorgeous young Dean's student, Lakin Riley. With me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we are hearing straight out to Dave Mack joining us at the courthouse. You know, Dave Mack, as the defense put up a semblance of a case, it almost seemed to me as if they weren't really trying. Or Dave, is it a matter of the fact of they didn't have that much to work with? I think they didn't have that much to work with, Nancy. And they were trying to point the finger at Jose Ibarra's brother, Diego, in particular.

And that was what the whole point of their defense was going to be because they didn't have anything else. But last minute stuff, they had planned to call Diego and their other brother to the stand as part of their defense testimony. Didn't do it. They actually presented some things to the judge late last night and then decided not to call Jose Ibarra's brothers as part of this case. Yeah, and I think I know why.

Joining me, founder and director of the Cold Case Research Institute, star of Zone 7 podcast, Cheryl McCollum, I think you and I know why Diego Ibarra didn't take the stand. Absolutely. He's a known gang member. He is a criminal, and there's nothing he could say that could help his brother unless he got himself into some trouble lying to the court. What a day in an American courtroom. A case that stunned the nation in its brutality comes to a close. Straight out to Philip Dubé joining us, high profile lawyer in the L.A. County Public Defender's Office.

Of course, Diego Ibarra, which is really where the defense had hung its hat, was not going to come in and jeopardize himself by saying, what, I did it? Well, a couple of problems. First of all, I believe the prosecution violated due process. They should have never presented that third- party culprit defense in its case in chief. The prosecution has to build its case completely independent of the defense case. And by hijacking that defense and building into its case in chief is illegal. And the reason why is that the defense is... I'm sorry, I fell asleep. Why didn't they call Diego Ibarra to the stand? Nutshell.

We're playing ping pong, not chess. Because they would not immunize him should he say something incriminating. And I believe he is... You mean a big fat lie like I did it? No. I mean, what if hypothetically he said something that could be contorted and twisted into a tacit admission? What protection does the young man have?

He's already in immigration jeopardy having to go back to a country where we have no diplomatic relations. He's not going to do anything to compromise his status, let alone go to prison. Okay, you know what? Cheryl McCollum, you're not a lawyer, much less a high-profile lawyer like Philip Dubé, but can you give it to me in a

nutshell? There is no way in H-E-double-L that Diego Ibarra was going to take the stand to defend his brother on a brutal attempted rape and murder charge, bludgeoning a co-ed dead with a rock. And what was he going to say to save his brother? Yeah, you got the wrong guy. I really did it. Zero chance he was ever going to take the stand. Anything that he says can and will be used against them while he's sitting there. What was he going to say?

Yes, that's my hat. Yes, I was wearing it the day she was murdered. He cannot say anything truthfully that could help his brother. His brother is on video stalking, being a predator, hunting for a victim. He's on video walking to the path where he attacked Lake and Riley. Then he's on video discarding bloody clothing that has his DNA and Lakeland's together. His fingerprint is on her cell phone. His brother Diego could say nothing to help Jose.

Nothing. If the brother, Diego Ibarra, had taken the stand and there was quite a courtroom skirmish over whether he would take the stand, whatever he said, even if he took responsibility, even if he tried to give his brother an alibi, would subject him to perjury charges. Look, he's going to get deported anyway, much less taking the stand and lying. Now, remember, this was a bench trial. This has been a bench trial from the get-go when the defense wanted to have the case heard before a judge and not a jury. So throughout this entire trial, we have seen great deference given to Lake and Riley's family. Now, this judge, remember, as he's looking out at the family, he had to render a verdict and sentencing after this. Listen. In shocking testimony, University of Georgia Police Sergeant Sophie

Raboud recounts the last moments of Lakin Riley's life, breaking down the minutes into a timeline, preparing for the last jog of her life, Lake and Riley reaches out to her mother by text at 8.55 a.m. asking if she's free to talk. At 9.03 a.m., Riley calls her mother. Lake and Riley then listens to music and is seen on a trail camera at 9.05 a.m. She carries her iPhone in her left hand, which is facing toward the intramural fields. At 9.06 a.m., Lakin Riley runs out of view of the camera. Now, this testimony regarding the final texts sent by Lakin to her mother, her mother in court throughout the trial, sobbing at the memory of those texts. And then mom tries

to call back. Listen. Data collected from the Garmin watch Lake and Riley was wearing on her jog. Her heart was no longer beating at 928 a.m. She does not reply to her mother's text at 938 a.m. And fails to answer phone calls. Her mother sends another text at 958 a.m. You're making me nervous. Not answering when you're out running. Are you okay?

And another text from her mother at 11.47 a.m. Pleading, please call me. I'm worried sick about you. You know, to Scott Eicher joining us, founding member of the FBI's cellular analysis survey team. Scott can be found at PCAexperts.com. Scott, I know you deal with data. You deal with satellites and raw digital and cell data every day of your life. Amazing that you're a founding member of the FBI cell analysis team, cellular analysis. How does it feel? You have been analyzing the digital facts that we know so far, the data that came forward

at trial, but to hear it put in such human terms, for instance, her Garmin watch shows her heart stopped beating at 928. She's texting her mother, trying to reach her mom, trying to call her at 903. By 928, she's dead in 25 minutes. By 958, her mother is sending repeated texts. You're making me nervous. You're not answering when you're out running. Are you okay?

It's almost as if the mom had a foreboding premonition and it's all proven through cell data analysis, Scott. I agree. This information that you can collect from not only the cell phone, the victim's cell phone, but the defendant's cell phone and the Garmin watch really puts it all together. It was fantastic how the cast agent that testified in this case and the officers that downloaded the Garmin information, they put it all together in this presentation that really did show

the judge that this information showed that the defendant's phone and the victim's phone were in the same area at the time of her death, at the time of her heart stopped beating. It's sad, but it's fantastic when we can get this information together all at once. And the defense actually brings forward a witness suggesting that it was another trail goer that could have murdered Lakin. But the poignant nature of the video you're seeing right now, no doubt had a huge impact on the judge. And I mean, think about it. To Dr. Angela Arnold, joining us renowned psychiatrist in the Atlanta jurisdiction, Angela Arnold, md.com, the mother, the whole family sitting in the well watching this trial and they have to see

Lakin's final moments. And she was out running free before she was so brutally murdered. And mom has to remember those moments we're talking about. And the judge sees all of this happening and he knows what the evidence is. Mom has to sit there and listen to the call where her daughter tried to call her, the text where her daughter was texting her, her trying to call back, those moments where she had no idea Lakin was already dead or was in the middle of an attack.

Nancy, I am not sure that this is something that the mother will ever be able to recover from. This is a trauma that she has suffered. And anyone who is a trauma that she has suffered. And anyone who is a mother, I'm sure is feeling the exact same way about this. How unsafe somebody can be just to go out on a run. I feel for that mother from the bottom of my heart, Nancy. It's a tragedy beyond belief. Well, another thing, Dr. Angie, there is such a thing as survivor guilt. The mom forever chastising herself thinking, oh, what if I had called her and we had gotten in a conversation?

What if I had picked that phone up or answered that text and we talked for 10 minutes? Would Jose Ibarra have picked somebody else? I mean, I've thought over and over in my mind for years, what if I had kept Keith at the house, at my parents' house for 20 extra minutes the morning he left? Would it have made a difference? I mean, it's so hard on the victim's families. And I'm sure, Nancy, like you said, you're still thinking about that nancy how i mean and there are certain things we can't control the mother will think that forever and yes she will have some form of survivor guilt on top of the traumatic the post-traumatic stress disorder that this poor

woman will suffer she will have nightmares she will not be able to sleep. She's going to see Lakin. She's going to replay this in her mind for years. It's a tragedy beyond belief. I'm just looking at the video, Cheryl, and you and I have walked the scene over and over and over and traced her route. But looking at her as she rounds that bend out, just running young, free as a bird, beautiful, so full of vitality, so alive. And she runs and runs and turns that corner. And you and I looking at it, we know that corner and we know what awaited her.

I mean, it's heartbreaking. It really is. It's so heartbreaking, especially sitting in the courtroom with her mama. And you know she's watching that just thinking, oh my God, if I could stop her, if I could just make her take a right instead of a left.

Nancy, you and I know he was laying in wait. He had already spent 73 minutes looking for a victim. And he lay in wait until Lakeland came up on him and he brutally attacked her, beating her with a rock. You know, Cheryl, how many times have you and I cornered each other and shown each other pictures and videos? I've looked at the twins videos throughout, you know, from day one, all the way through and and and kind of relive it, relive that moment, taking that video, seeing them so young and happy and alive. And this video, the mom in court, when she saw this, it was a dagger to her heart, Cheryl. It was gut wrenching to watch her. And, you know, Nancy, again, I think the prosecutor put it so beautifully today that Lakeland, she got him. She fought him.

She put evidence on his body. She got him. And Sheila Rawls said that she twisted a powerful knot that the defendant can't get out of. And she's absolutely right. Back to Dave Mack joining us outside the courtroom. Dave Mack threw out the state's closing argument as Prosecutor Ross went through the evidence to the judge. Lakin's mother just, she just sobbed, just audibly sobbed. Anyone could hear it. And it would be over my dead body if they tried to silence her in that courtroom. And I don't know if you noticed, Ibarra acted like he didn't hear anything.

He acts like he's in traffic court, Nancy. He doesn't act like any of this matters to him, that he is part of it at all. He actually is being very disconnected is probably the best way to put it. He just is totally not there. And when you actually are laying out the facts of this case, okay, there are no doubts. The closing argument is just basically laying out the map. Here's what happened. Here's how we know he did it. And it's all there. There's no way of looking at this any other way.

That's why there was a conclusion the way it was. There was nothing else they could come up with in terms of any kind of defense. You know, the only defense they had, Nancy, was, well, it was his brother, maybe. But his brother, that was part of the rebuttal witness, you know, for the prosecution, was to say Diego was asleep. Nothing proves he wasn't asleep at the time the killing happened. 1147 a.m. Incoming text from her mother says, please call me.

I'm worried sick about you. Is that text read? It is not. Her cause of death is the combined effects of blunt force head trauma and asphyxia. What is her manner of death? Homicide. Oh, blunt force trauma with a rock still covered in Lakin's blood and hair and asphyxia. You were just hearing Dr. Michelle DeMarco, the medical examiner that testified for the state. That is just one piece of evidence that

weighed into the judge's finding of guilty, Jose Ibarra guilty in the murder of this beautiful young co-ed, Lakin Riley. In the opening statements, we heardor Ross state that Ibarra was out hunting, hunting for a woman. And he lay in wait, waiting for a victim to go by. And here comes Lakin Wright. Look at him hiding, hiding in the bushes amongst the trees, just waiting. What was going through his mind? Do I know? No. Do I care? No. I don't have to go into the mind of a killer and would-be rapist and figure out what he's thinking. But look at him, look at him pacing, waiting for a victim to come by. and she did. But this victim, as Prosecutor Ross said, refused to be

his rape victim and she fought tooth and nail providing the state with valuable and probative evidence. In the charges we see Agassault with intent to rape. The defendant, Ibarra, was indicted. I have the indictment right here in my hand with 10 counts. In addition to malice murder charges, that means intent to kill is shown, there are felony murder charges, which means a death occurred during the commission of a felony. Now, what did the state offer to support a guilty verdict for attempted rape, which proves felony murder? Listen. The waistband of her pants had been moved. The backside of her running pants were pulled down,

exposing the top of her buttocks. Joining us at the courthouse, CrimeOnline.com's investigative reporter, Dave Mack. Dave, oh, by the way, you were just hearing that from our friends at the National Desk. That was trial testimony from Special Agents Lucas Beyer. Dave Mack, Lucas Beyer, home run, home run for the state. Did you hear that testimony? You've been in court where he describes how her waistband, the backside of her pants were pulled down over her rear end. And of course, she was left exposed that way. I mean, why else would Ibarra be trying to pull her pants off if he wasn't trying to rape her? That was the whole point he was making.

Nancy, you know, Lucas Beyer was such a good witness. They even brought him back as a rebuttal witness after the defense closing because they were trying to point the arrow at Diego Ibarra. You know, and it was Lucas Beyer they brought back to the stand. They said there's no evidence that Diego was anywhere other than in bed asleep. And there is more. Listen. The clothing was pulled up extremely high above her breasts, which completely exposed her breasts. Cheryl McCollum, I don't see that the judge really had any choice at all on the ag assault intent to rape. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. For those of you just joining us, Jose Ibarra, guilty, guilty in the murder of Lakin Riley. We've got an aggravated battery, which is beating her with a rock in the head. But count three to support a felony murder charge.

The underlying felony is aggravated assault with intent to rape. And you are hearing GBI Special Agent Lucas Beyer laying it out. We got that from our friends at the national desk. I mean, Cheryl McCollum, did you hear what he said last? Her clothing was pulled up high up above, up to her neck as she was left that way with her breasts exposed. Nancy, three layers of clothing, her jacket, her shirt, her sports bra were all moved above her breasts to expose them. Her pants had been pulled down. Her underwear had been pulled and torn. And I also want to remind you, one of the injuries that Lakeland Riley left on Jose Ibarra was between his shoulder blades on his back, which he didn't get running away.

He got that because he was on top of her. And there's more. Listen to GBI special agent Lucas Beyer. The sports bra had been manipulated so that it had become the outermost layer of her clothing. Beyer on the stand from our friends at the National Desk, Philip Dubay, high profile lawyer joining us out of L.A. who has covered the case from the get go. Really? You don't think? Is there any way with a straight face, Dubay, a straight face that you could argue this was not aggravated assault with the intent to rape?

Because in closing arguments, the defense attorney argued early, early this morning that there was reasonable doubt. I don't see any reasonable doubt there. The waistband of her pants pulled down over her rear end. Her clothing yanked up around her neck. She's left with her breasts and rear end exposed, her underwear torn, and the sports bra had been so jerked around, it was now on the outside of her clothing. Wrong place, wrong time. There were hundreds of people on and off campus at the same time. What I think would have been the appropriate argument would be to say he happened upon the body already dead, and as a crime of opportunity, he rifled through her things,

and he tried to take advantage of the situation and is in fact not the perpetrator. And in the process, it was transfer of DNA. And the scratches are completely unrelated. The DNA expert could not testify that the cells found under her fingernails were not from transfer. He could have been touching her hands, going through her purse, going through her pockets, whatever she had on her, and in the process, touched the phone. You have no eyewitness or video putting him at the crime scene at the time. Instead, you have him after the fact, wrong place and wrong time. Well, thank heaven the judge did not listen to any gibberish such as that. Did you actually say maybe he went through her things? You mean her underwear and her sports bra? Those things? I'm talking about whoever actually did it

and he happened upon it after the fact and there was transfer. Look, you don't have an eyewitness. You don't have video. You don't have anything else. I'm not saying he's an angel, but he took advantage of the situation if that were to be believed. And it doesn't necessarily prove a homicide. It certainly doesn't prove a felony murder committed during the commission of a stalking. I mean, under Georgia law, stalking is a misdemeanor. So you don't even have that. We're talking about attempted rape.

I understand that. We're talking about attempted rape, not stalking. I'm a veteran trial lawyer. I've tried so many trials, I can't even count them all. Don't try to confuse the charges. We're not talking about a stalking charge. This is felony murder with the underlying felony being attempted rape. Isn't attempted rape a felony in L.A.?

Of course it is. Of course it is. But what proof do you have? I don't know what you're talking about stalking. The allegation was that he was following and lying in wait and hanging out, peeping through windows, etc. No, that's not an allegation. That's what I'm arguing here because I know that he stood there for about an hour. Cheryl McCollum, stalking is not part of this case. That

is not an indicted charge. But just to prove Philip Dubé wrong, jump in, Cheryl. If he was not killing her, why would he hang up on 9-1-1 and throw the phone? He did that because Lakin knew she was in danger. And when she called 9-1-1, he grabbed grabbed the phone disengaged that call and threw it away from her his fingerprint was on the phone with her blood on it That's body cam from the UGA PD Sergeant Joshua Epps. Hola, hola, vamos. Could not wake him up. Cheryl McCollum, the judge clearly believed the state's argument that after the murder of Lakin Riley, beautiful young Dean's List student, Jose Ibarra had a great night's sleep. In fact, the words were, he slept like a baby.

Did you? Look at this. They can hardly wake him up. He was sound asleep to the point they could hardly wake him up. And Nancy, the most just horrific part of this whole thing is knowing her mom ain't slept a full night since her baby was murdered. And this man is going to walk out of that house, start chatting among his friends, and started laughing. And the judge didn't miss that either. In closing arguments early this morning, we heard the defense attorney arguing that there were alternate theories as to what happened. One being that the brothers,

Diego Ibarra and Jose Ibarra, mingled, co-mingled their clothing in the apartment. And we see that's absolutely true. It's a big mess. And that somehow there was a transference onto, I guess she's trying to say, Diego Ibarra's clothes. So therefore implicating Diego Ibarra. That's what was argued in the defense closing. But listen to more of this body cam footage. We played that for you because there you can hear more of the conversation by the PD Sergeant Joshua Epps telling him to come slowly. Ibarra is starting to walk further in the house and the officer chastises him. At that point, Ibarra puts on his shoes and walks out. To Dr. Angela Arnold, I think I need a shrink right now. For those of you just joining us, Ibarra guilty. The judge had no other choice. And I think a jury would have agreed as well. Dr. Angie Arnold, how can you, according to the state now proven in a court of law, brutally attempt to rape a young girl jogging by, wait in the woods for her, attack her, murder her by bludgeoning her with a rock and then leaving her dead bloody, her face disfigured and her

private parts exposed and then get a good night's sleep. Because Nancy, we are dealing with the severest of a sociopath here. He has no conscience. Do you notice how over the course of all of this, we have all become so attached to Lake and Riley, haven't we? She's a beautiful girl. She brings out feelings inside of us. We all think of our own children when we look at this beautiful girl and what happened to her. And he sits in the courtroom with no emotion on his face because Nancy, he is a sociopath. And you know what else that means, Nancy? I wish I could tell the judge this.

He is not capable of rehab. They need to put him under the jail and pour some concrete on him. There is no possibility of this person ever being rehabilitated because there's nothing, there's nothing to rehab. He doesn't have any empathy. He doesn't feel any remorse. The entire country looks at this beautiful girl and feels for her mother.

They feel for her family. He did this to her and he feels nothing because he is the severest of a sociopath and he needs to be done away with, Nancy. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. guilty guilty Jose Ibarra found guilty in a court of law in the brutal murder of a beautiful young co-ed UGA nursing student Lakin Riley what went in to that verdict finding you heard Philip Dubé earlier arguing it could have been someone else. And I want you to hear this. In closing arguments, the defense actually argued to the judge with a straight face that Lakin Riley, the murder victim, should have, could have outrun Jose Ibarra. Why? Why is that relevant? Because the defense, Caitlin Beck, argued that Jose Ibarra was shorter and quote, fatter than brother Diego. So I guess she's arguing the killer had to be Diego, the brother, because he was taller and faster.

They actually argued that. But back to real evidence. Listen. A match between the contact robbings from the jacket and Jose Ibarra is approximately 100 trillion times more probable than a coincidental match to an unrelated person in the population. That from our friends at the National Desk. You are hearing the GBI Crime Lab analyst, Ashley Hinkle. Did you hear that, Dubé? 100 trillion times.

But she could not eliminate transfer. She could not eliminate transfer. That's the problem. Hold on. There is a match. I think that we can eliminate transfer because dave mack joining us at the courthouse isn't it true that video catches jose ibarra throwing that jacket not diego the brother but jose ibarra throwing that jacket into, oh, there he is. That's the same shirt he was wearing one hour earlier

posting on WhatsApp. Go ahead. The video of him throwing the jacket into the dumpster, that is what they've used to say Diego is the killer because they said that one of the friends that actually was interviewed by police said she thought it was Diego throwing the jacket in the dumpster. Now, she wasn't 100 percent sure, but a friend who knew them both much better said, no, that's Jose. So that's where the defense got their whole idea was from the witness saying,

I think it's Diego throwing the jacket away. That entire defense strategy came from that one comment from somebody who was not even sure. OK. So to believe that Dave Mack, I mean, I've seen, I was sitting in court when the state showed the photo of Jose Ibarra one hour before the murder, posting selfies, wearing that exact shirt. I'd like to see it because it has very unusual markings. There he is. There he is in the shirt. One hour later, throwing the jacket with a 100 trillion likelihood DNA match. So I don't know what Dubé is talking about transfer. And listen about the fingernail clippings.

The DNA match between the wet dry swabbing from the fingernail clippings from the right hand and the match was to Jose Antonio Ibarra. Still, Ashley Hinkle on the stand from our friends at the National Desk. And there's more on the fingernail DNA match. The match is 10 billion times more probable than a coincidental match to an unrelated person in the population. Okay, Philip Dubé, 10 billion likelihood, 100 trillion likelihood. There's no chance of a transfer because you just saw Jose Ibarra throwing that jacket into the trash minutes after Lakin is killed. So when's the transfer? There's a difference between consciousness of guilt

and throwing that away and consciousness of fear. He obviously realized that there was some type of serological evidence on the jacket and dumped it out of fear of being accused. So he dumped it. I mean, that's how I would have attacked it. It doesn't necessarily mean just because biological evidence is on your clothing that you're the culprit.

We've seen this in history. We saw it a few months ago out of a Detroit murder where a well-known Jewish community advocate was murdered by knife in front of her home. The defendant was caught on video outside of her home. He testified he was acquitted. He said he touched her as an afterthought to try to rifle through her belongings, see what was happening. The jury believed him. In this case, the judge would not have believed him. Speaking of fantastical arguments, the defense also argued that Jose Ibarra was just an accomplice. That maybe two men were involved in Lakin's murder and two rocks.

That makes it so easy for the judge to find Ibarra guilty. Joining me right now, a special guest, renowned medical examiner, Dr. Kendall Crowns, chief medical examiner, Tarrant County, esteemed lecturer at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU. Dr. Kendall Crowns, you and I have gone over and over the autopsy evidence in this case. Could you describe what happened to Lakin? Certainly. So she has blunt trauma to the head from the rock that set the scene with the blood on it that has caused lacerations or kind of splitting of the skin and a depressed skull fracture, which is kind of pushing in of the skull itself from being struck over and over and over with the rock. She also has what they've

described as asphyxia. The medical examiner said she had signs of asphyxia at the autopsy. That can be petechial hemorrhages of the eye, which are little bursting of the capillaries on your eye. It can also be hemorrhages in the neck musculature from a manual strangulation. So probably she's strangled, wakes back up, annexed, and then beats her head in with a rock. Or he hits her with a rock, she passes out, he's trying to rape her, she wakes back up and then he strangles her. Either way, it's pretty bad. You know, I always wonder, and Dubé will have a big fit over this, based on what Dr. Kendall Crowns has just told us, what Lakin went through as she fought for her life. Why the defendant didn't take the stand and testify.

Hey, if you're not guilty, where were you? What were you doing? Listen. I guess he didn't. That's from our friends at the National Desk. Cheryl McCollum, you just heard what Dr. Kendall Krause explained happened to Lakin and her fight to live. How she was humiliated, attacked, brutalized, her face disfigured. Did you really think Ibarra was going to take the stand? Not a shot. And I'll tell you something. We can talk about her injuries and those are vital to understand.

But the injuries that she gave to him to me are just as vital. She punched him dead in the mouth. She scratched him on the wrist, on the throat, on the back of the neck, on his back, on his elbow, on his arm. She fought for those 18 minutes like her life depended on it because she knew it did. One of the defense's first witnesses is a neighbor of the Ibarra's. The woman says Diego Ibarra approached her the evening of February 22nd, asking why the complex is crawling with cops. In broken Spanish, the woman tells him a young lady lost her life behind the complex. Aware that it's along Diego's path to work, she encourages him to speak up if he saw anything suspicious. Two officers briefly check in on Ibarra and the woman.

When they walk away, the woman says Diego Ibarra urgently typed something into the translator app for her to read. The defense trying to shift blame on Jose Ibarra's brother, Diego, it didn't work. Straight back out to Dr. Kendall Crowns joining us. We're now medical examiner out of Tarrant County. Dr. Kendall Crowns, we know that Lakin fought back. She fought for her life. She refused to be Jose Ibarra's next rape victim. How long would she have lived sustaining the injuries she did to her skull? So the injuries to the skull with the depressed skull fracture, she could have survived that, had a concussion. She could have potentially, depending on how much brain damage there was, been still able to survive that injury. If it was severe enough, she probably could have died

within minutes of receiving it. It all depends on how much damage the skull fracture went through into her brain. The strangulation, on the other hand, she'd probably be unconscious when a little over 10 to 20 seconds. And if he continued to apply pressure, she'd be dead within about four to five minutes. Cheryl McCollum, it's beyond understanding for me that the defense actually argued maybe there were two assailants and two rocks. Yeah. You know, Nancy, the injuries to his wrist and his elbow says to me she probably knocked the first rock out of his hand. And he simply grabbed the second one and finished the job to the point part of her skull was in her brain. He beat her. He beat her violently.

He set out that morning to find a victim. He did not care who. In my mind, the judge had no alternative other than finding Ibarra guilty in the murder of Lakin Riley. Yes, a verdict has been rendered. He's not the only one sentenced in this case. Her mother, her family are sentenced to life without Lakin. They're sentenced to life remembering what she suffered. They are sentenced to life remembering those last images of her running free. Lake and Riley, rest in peace.

Good night, friends. this is an iHeart podcast