Laken Riley’s killer Jose Ibarra gets major win for possible trial redo

Laken Riley’s killer cinched a major court win when a judge ruled the illegal immigrant should be mentally evaluated after his lawyers claimed he wasn’t competent to stand trial last year.

Jose Ibarra — a Tren de Aragua gangbanger — was convicted of the vicious murder of the promising 22-year-old nursing student in November and was sentenced to life without parole by Judge Patrick Haggard.

Haggard, however, on Thursday signed off on an order that Ibarra be evaluated after his lawyers last month claimed he lacked the mental wherewithal to help prepare his own defense, to understand his case and when he agreed that Haggard could decide his guilt rather than a jury.

Ibarra’s attorneys — who are handling his appeal case — said in court papers from last month that they believe Ibarra is “suffering from congenital deficiency which could render the client incapable of preparing a defense and standing trial.”

The defense attorneys also claimed he “lacks the mental capacity to understand the nature and object and proceedings and council believes that this was in existence at the time of the offense and at the time of the trial.”

And Ibarra’s trial lawyers didn’t have him evaluated before trial, which might have been a problem when he agreed to only be tried by a judge and not a jury, the appeal lawyers claimed.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross responded in her own court papers, saying there was no evidence during trial that suggested Ibarra wasn’t mentally competent. But Ross didn’t oppose Ibarra getting evaluated and left it up to Haggard to decide.

Haggard’s order said, “The mental competence of [Ibarra] has been called into question, and this court has found it appropriate for an evaluation to be conducted at the public expense.”

The judge added he wanted a doctor to determine if Ibarra was fit to stand trial last year and whether he is able to help with his appeal case now.

Haggard ordered a “prompt evaluation” to take place either at the Georgia Department of Correction or at a designated hospital.

Ibarra, 27, was found guilty of violently slaying Riley, on Feb. 22, 2024, when she was on a jog on the University of Georgia campus, near where she was attending school at Augusta University.

Prosecutors claimed Ibarra tried to sexually assault Riley but after she put up a fight for some 18 minutes, he ended up smashing her head with a rock and asphyxiating her.

Ibarra’s case captured the nation’s attention since he was an illegal immigrant who came to the country during the migrant crisis under former President Joe Biden. He was released about a day after he was picked up at the border in El Paso, Texas, in September 2022.

He ended up in New York City, where he was arrested in August 2023 for riding a moped with a 5-year-old on his back without a helmet or seatbelt.

He was then flown on a taxpayer-funded flight from the Big Apple to Georgia, where his brother Diego lived.

Ibarra has been seeking a retrial.