Information about Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan migrant who stands accused of killing 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley, has been thin. The 26-year-old, full name Jose Antonio Ibarra, faces ten charges that include malice murder, aggravated battery, and three counts of felony murder. He has relinquished his right to a jury trial, meaning that the judge will decide the case based on the evidence. While details about Ibarra’s history are slim, there is some information about his family, including his brothers Diego and Argenis, his wife Layling Franco, and son.
What we know about Jose Antonio Ibarra
Jose Ibarra in an undocumented migrant from the state of Miranda in Venezuela who entered the United States through Texas on September 8, 2022, according to his wife.
This is based on a report by the New York Post, where Franco says that they entered El Paso together with her five-year-old son before they were put on a bus to New York City on September 15. There, Ibarra worked for various food services, such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, and a local restaurant.
However, according to police records, he was arrested in August 2023 for endangering the welfare of a child when he rode a moped in Queens with his son without him having any head protection or restraint. In November, Ibarra and Franco split up, though it’s unclear if they remain married. It was then that Jose moved to Georgia to live with his brother Diego, currently 28, who worked for the University of Georgia.
Diego was arrested in February 2024 for possessing an illegal visa, a fake green card, per ABC News. According to court documents, Diego entered the United States illegally on April 3, 2023 and was sent back to Mexico, but then assaulted Border Patrol agents 27 days later. The Justice Department says several of his tattoos suggest that he is a member of a Venezuelan gang called Tren de Aragua. Diego was also reportedly arrested for a DUI in September 2023 and twice for shoplifting.
Jose’s other brother, Argenis Ibarra, was caught by Border Patrol on April 30, 2023 along with Diego, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. He was also arrested on February 23, the same day that Jose was apprehended for the murder of Laken Riley.
Both Argenis and Diego are not suspected of any involvement in Riley’s murder. However, Diego pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a fraudulent document in July 15 in a statement by the DOJ. Argenis was also charged with the same crime, with an indictment alleging that he had a fraudulent United States Permanent Resident Card and a counterfeit United States Social Security Card.
The Laken Riley case has garnered national attention with Donald Trump using it to call for stricter immigration policies.
