The Venezuelan man convicted of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley and sentenced to serve life in prison without parole has requested a new trial.
Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Jose Ibarra guilty of murder and other charges in the February killing. Ibarra, 26, had waived his right to a jury trial, meaning Haggard heard and decided the case.
Attorneys for Jose Ibarra on Monday filed a motion for a new trial. The filing says the verdict is “contrary to law” and “contrary to the evidence,” and that the court “committed other errors of law that necessitate a new trial." The lawyers didn't elaborate, but they wrote that Ibarra reserves the right to supplement the motion “after a full and thorough view of the facts and circumstances attendant to the trial of this case.”
