Laken Riley’s father files wrongful death lawsuit against Georgia university system
· Toronto Sun
The father of Laken Riley, who was killed on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens by a Venezuelan man who lived nearby, is accusing the state university system of negligence that he says led to his daughter’s death.
Jason Riley filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, as well as several property management companies.
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Just over an hour before the 22-year-old nursing student was killed, Ibarra had looked into the window of a graduate student’s on-campus apartment and tried to open the front door before fleeing into a wooded area.
‘Failed in its duty’
The lawsuit filed Monday in Gwinnett County State Court alleges that the Board of Regents “failed in its duty to provide a reasonably safe premises” and failed to notify students and guests on campus of the threat posed by Ibarra that morning.
“Soon thereafter, with no knowledge of the potential assailant and no reason to suspect any danger, nursing student Laken Riley went for her routine morning run near the Intramural Fields on the UGA campus,” the lawsuit reads.
The suit also says the Board of Regents failed to follow its own policies and procedures on screening employees, which resulted in Ibarra’s brother — who, like Ibarra, was in the U.S. illegally — being employed on campus.
The suit also accuses the board of failing to monitor criminal activity on campus.
A Board of Regents spokesperson said the board does not comment on pending litigation.
What happened that fateful morning?
Laken attended Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens. She was out for a run on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22, 2024 when Jose Ibarra tried to rape her.
The Tren de Aragua gangbanger smashed Riley’s head with a rock and asphyxiated her when she fought back.
Ibarra, 28, was convicted of murder and other charges and sentenced to life without parole last year.
How Riley became the face of immigration reform
Ibarra had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay while he pursued his immigration case.
Riley’s lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of the property management for the apartment complex where Ibarra lived with other people, including two of his brothers.
It alleges the property manager “failed in its duty to properly screen prospective tenants” and allowed Ibarra to live there regardless of the fact that he was in the country illegally and had a criminal history.
Had the property manager “not permitted Ibarra to live in the Apartments in close proximity to the citizens of Athens and students of the University of Georgia, Ibarra would not have had the opportunity to assault and murder Ms. Riley in February 2024.”
The Laken Riley Act was the first piece of legislation President Donald Trump signed into law after returning to the White House.
The bill mandated the federal detention of illegal immigrants accused of burglary, theft, assaulting law enforcement officers, and other violent crimes.
Earlier this year, officials marked the act’s one-year anniversary by announcing that more than 20,000 illegal migrants that were either charged or convicted of crimes have been detained since the bill was signed into law.
Riley’s father is requesting a jury trial. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as reimbursement of legal costs.