Wife of Suspect in Georgia Student Murder Speaks Out After ICE Confirms illegal Status, Prior NYC Arrest

On Sunday, the wife of the Venezuelan man charged in connection with the murder of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley spoke out for the first time since her husband’s arrest. 

Layling Franco, 23, the wife of illegal immigrant Jose Antonio Ibarra and another Venezuela national, told the New York Post that she and her 5-year-old son were in the El Paso facility for five days before they made the journey to New York.

“We got married so we could join our asylum cases,” she told the Post. “He was the person I thought I could see through. We’ve known each other our entire lives.”

She said that Ibarra was a calm person, opting to leave New York for a better job in Georgia. 

“He wasn’t aggressive, none of that,” she told the Post. “We had problems as a couple, but our problems weren’t physical. We wouldn’t punch, but we’d raise our voices.”

“I want to talk to [Jose],” she said. “I have a lot of faith that this wasn’t him, that there was a misunderstanding somewhere. But if he did, he has to pay for what he did, truly.”

Earlier in the day, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that 26-year-old Ibarra had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and had previously been arrested in New York City. He was charged with the murder of Riley on the University of Georgia campus this past week. Fox News previously reported that he had crossed into the U.S. illegally near El Paso in September 2022 and was paroled into the U. S.

ICE confirmed the report that he had been encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 8, 2022, after entering near El Paso and was “paroled and released for further processing.” They also confirmed that Ibarra had been arrested by the New York Police Department on Sept. 14, 2023, just over a year later, and “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.”

Under most circumstances, when ICE learns that a removable illegal immigrant has been arrested on criminal charges, the agency will lodge a request for local law enforcement to keep the suspect in custody, also referred to as a detainer, so they can be transferred to ICE and put into deportation proceedings. 

However, ICE’s statement says Ibarra was released before a detainer could be issued. NYC is also a “sanctuary city,” which generally restricts law enforcement from complying with ICE detainers.

ICE said in a statement that its Enforcement and Removal Operations office in Atlanta “encountered Ibarra pursuant to his arrest by the University of Georgia Police Department and being charged with murder and other crimes. ERO Atlanta lodged a detainer.”

Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was found dead on Thursday after previously attending UGA before entering a nursing program at Augusta’s Athens campus, where she made the dean’s list.

Authorities revealed on Friday that Ibarra has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another.

Ibarra appeared in court on Saturday morning, when Clarke County Magistrate Judge Donarell Green denied his bond “for today.” Two translators were present. Ibarra nodded when spoken to.

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