Father of Laken Riley files $1 million wrongful death suit against Georgia Board of Regents

ATLANTA (CN) — The father of Laken Riley, a nursing student killed in 2024 while jogging on the University of Georgia campus, sued the governing body of the University System of Georgia and the managers of an apartment complex in Georgia state court Monday, claiming they negligently let his daughter’s killer live near campus despite his criminal background.

Jose Antonio Ibarra was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for Riley’s murder. He was found guilty of felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, hindering a 911 call, tampering with evidence and a Peeping Tom charge from before Riley was killed.

According to the father, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia failed to notify students that Ibarra was a threat on campus after he was seen peeping in a dormitory’s windows approximately an hour before Riley was killed.

“Had defendant Board of Regents warned the public, the Athens community, and students such as Ms. Riley of the threat posed by Ibarra, Ibarra would not have had the opportunity to assault and murder Ms. Riley in February 2024,” the lawsuit says.

A representative for the Board of Regents did not immediately respond to a phone call requesting comment Tuesday afternoon.

The complaint filed by Jason Riley in Gwinnett County, Georgia, is accompanied by a notice from his attorneys demanding $1 million on the wrongful death claim. Riley claims the Board of Regents — as well as The Argo Apartments LP, Azulyk Athens LLC and Azulyk Athens manager Omar Zavala — failed to keep their property safe.

According to the filing, a University of Georgia student identified as T.T.S. called 911 on Feb. 22, 2024, to report that an assailant — later identified as Ibarra — had repeatedly looked through her dormitory window and tried to open her front door shortly before 8 a.m.

Surveillance footage showed Ibarra fleeing into the woods near the dormitory before police arrived. Laken Riley was seen jogging near the intramural fields on the University of Georgia campus in the same area at 9:05 a.m.

“At approximately 9:10 a.m., at a location less than 1,000 feet from T.T.S.’s dormitory, Ms. Riley’s phone is used to call Athens-Clarke County 911 dispatch using the SOS function on the phone. The call connects and lasts for over a minute; a struggle can be heard on the recording but no voices other than the Athens-Clarke County 911 dispatcher are discernable,” the father says in the lawsuit.

Ibarra’s fingerprint was found on the phone, indicating he disconnected the 911 call. Other evidence connected Ibarra to the crime, including his DNA found under Laken Riley’s fingernails.

Laken Riley’s body was discovered near the running trail about three hours later. Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents later testified that she died of blunt force trauma and asphyxia from either manual strangulation or neck compression.

Ibarra was living at an apartment complex owned and operated by Azulyk Athen LLC in Athens, Georgia, at the time of the murder, the father says in the suit. The apartment was less than a mile from the University of Georgia campus.

Jason Riley claims Azulyk and Zavala let Ibarra live there “without regard to the legality of his status in the United States and without regard to his violent criminal history.” He says Azulyk and Zavala failed to properly screen prospective tenants and failed to monitor criminal activity on their property.

Ibarra, a Venezuelan citizen who entered the U.S. illegally in 2022, was charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation in New York in 2023. He and his brother also both received citations for shoplifting from a Georgia Walmart. Ibarra was released both times and issued a bench warrant for failing to appear in court for the shoplifting case.

Ibarra “would not have had the opportunity to assault and murder Ms. Riley” if Azulyk and Zavala had not let him live in the apartments near the university, Jason Riley says.

Zavala did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Jason Riley also accuses the Board of Regents of failing to follow its own policies and procedures for screening employees in deciding to hire Ibarra’s brother on campus.

Laken Riley’s death added fuel to the national debate over immigration, leading to the passage of the Laken Riley Act. The law, signed by President Donald Trump last year, gives federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes.

Jason Riley, who is represented by David Carter of Carter Jeffries LLC, has requested a jury trial and punitive damages plus litigation expenses. He is seeking compensation for his daughter’s pre-death pain and suffering, medical expenses, funeral expenses and lost future wages.

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