Found Deceased GA - University of Georgia Laken Hope Riley, 22, found dead near University of Georgia intramural fields, foul play suspected, 22 Feb 2024

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Ms. Riley attended high school in Cherokee County and was on River Ridge High School’s cross-country team.

“Our community and our world lost a shining light with the tragic passing of Laken,” Brian V. Hightower, the superintendent of schools, said in a statement. Mr. Hightower said that Ms. Riley “inspired classmates and teachers with her love of learning and her kindness to all.”

As a member of the high school’s cross-country team for four years, she participated in the Georgia High School Association State Cross-Country Final several times, said her former coach, Keith Hooper, in a statement.
Mr. Hooper said that Ms. Riley “was an unselfish individual,” adding that her “passion for health care science and running are to be admired. She will always accompany us as we run.”
www.nytimes.com

Suspect Is Arrested in Killing of Woman on U. of Georgia Campus

The woman was a nursing student at Augusta University who had previously attended the University of Georgia.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
 
Inthedetails said:
It's so jarring that it happened in broad daylight in a place considered safe. I think many students are thinking, "that could be me," and many family members (like me) are thinking, "that could be my relative." It's scary to realize that.

jmo
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Jarring is a very good word for it. I still don’t know how the suspect was able to get away with it for even 24 hours. Was she incapacitated immediately, and if so, how? If she did scream or if there were any sounds of a struggle, how did no one hear? There are no leaves on the trees to muffle sound right now, so any noise should have carried. I am leaning towards a random, opportunistic attack but I’m not sure why. Has the 911 call been released? I do wonder what lead the roommate to sound the alarm so quickly, and why the police response was so prompt. Was it just the phone not moving or was she possibly on the phone with her roommate? Hopefully the pc will provide some information.
 
gingerbread said:
Jarring is a very good word for it. I still don’t know how the suspect was able to get away with it for even 24 hours. Was she incapacitated immediately, and if so, how? If she did scream or if there were any sounds of a struggle, how did no one hear? There are no leaves on the trees to muffle sound right now, so any noise should have carried. I am leaning towards a random, opportunistic attack but I’m not sure why. Has the 911 call been released? I do wonder what lead the roommate to sound the alarm so quickly, and why the police response was so prompt. Was it just the phone not moving or was she possibly on the phone with her roommate? Hopefully the pc will provide some information.
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Only my opinion, but if she was a regular runner she likely had a pretty normal schedule of when she ran and for how long. Her roommates would have been familiar with that, so I'm guessing she was gone much longer than normal. Perhaps they tried to call her and she didn't answer or the phone was turned off. When I was an undergrad at a large state university (20+ years ago and before cell phones), I would go running early in the morning nearly every day. I'd leave my roommates a note to let them know my route and what time they should expect me to be home. They knew I wanted them to come looking for me or call the police if I didn't come home reasonably within that timeframe (because back then we were also afraid of being attacked while running - some things never change, and it makes me extremely angry). My guess is that her roommates were familiar with her schedule and something was out of the ordinary and sent off red flags. JMO
 
The person arrested lives in apartment off Milledge Ave just off the lake. It was on the evening news and Laken was from Woodstock which is suburban Atlanta.
Pretty sad a girl cannot even exercise safely on a beautiful day in a populated area.
 
ag513 said:
Only my opinion, but if she was a regular runner she likely had a pretty normal schedule of when she ran and for how long. Her roommates would have been familiar with that, so I'm guessing she was gone much longer than normal. Perhaps they tried to call her and she didn't answer or the phone was turned off. When I was an undergrad at a large state university (20+ years ago and before cell phones), I would go running early in the morning nearly every day. I'd leave my roommates a note to let them know my route and what time they should expect me to be home. They knew I wanted them to come looking for me or call the police if I didn't come home reasonably within that timeframe (because back then we were also afraid of being attacked while running - some things never change, and it makes me extremely angry). My guess is that her roommates were familiar with her schedule and something was out of the ordinary and sent off red flags. JMO
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Same! I did the same thing running and my roommates knew.
 
skyedaze said:
The person arrested lives in apartment off Milledge Ave just off the lake. It was on the evening news and Laken was from Woodstock which is suburban Atlanta.
Pretty sad a girl cannot even exercise safely on a beautiful day in a populated area.
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Good luck going anywhere as a woman or a young girl without unwanted attention.
 
Many years ago, the front-runner in a nationally televised marathon - I think it was NYC or Chicago; I do know it wasn't Boston - had a man attempt to assault her on live television, having jumped off the curb! Obviously, a person who would do this has some serious issues, but if she couldn't be safe, who is?
 
JoeFromLB said:
Well, Georgia has the death penalty.
That's the first thing I look for anymore. Try him then fry him.

Sorry, but my anger comes to the surface in these kind of crimes. That poor young woman...
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Absolutely! I think the worst crimes are those against truly innocent victims and those committed against strangers that are doing absolutely nothing wrong. This isn't an altercation, a drug deal gone wrong, gang violence, etc. This was a young woman just out for a run and at this point we don't know if it was a known killer or totally random, but either way it's senseless.. she posed zero threat to this coward.
 
ag513 said:
Her Instagram account has several photos from her running on the cross country team in high school. It seems she's been a runner for a long time, so indeed very sad that she could't even do this activity safely. JMO

I just read the rules and believe I am allowed to post a link to her Instagram account, but no screen shots, etc. Here is the link to that one: Login • Instagram
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It's painful to look at pictures of someone so young, active and vibrant... knowing that someone robbed them of all that <modsnip> :(
 
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Presser notes:

Suspect in custody. Jose Antonio Ibarra (spelling). Lives in Athens, not a US citizen.

Charged with a litany of counts, to include malice murder.

Search warrant served on apartment and that process continues.
 
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