The state alleges that Jose was “hunting for females” on the college campus, and when Laken refused to be his victim, he “bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly.” Her cause of death was blunt-force trauma to the head.
“The evidence will show that Laken fought. She fought for her life, she fought for her dignity, and in that fight, she caused this defendant to leave forensic evidence behind. She also marked her killer for the entire world to see,” Ross claimed.
After authorities were contacted about Laken’s disappearance, it took approximately 21 minutes for responding officer Sgt. Kenneth Maxwell to locate her body. She was found partially clothed, and Maxwell’s body camera footage was played in court, showing he immediately began to perform lifesaving measures.
In court, Danielle Stuart, a crime scene analyst with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, described injuries to Laken’s body.
“Her hair was very tangled, which made it difficult for me to locate the additional injuries, and tangled with… leaves, blood, dirt, tangled in her hair,” Stuart said.
At the crime scene, there was reportedly a large spot without any leaves where Stuart believed a “significant disturbance” occurred. Laken’s cell phone was found in leaves at the scene, with a fingerprint in the region “where you would swipe to unlock” with “reddish stains suspected to be blood.”
On surveillance footage, Jose was allegedly seen throwing clothing into a dumpster. The next day, February 23, he fled to be with his brother, Diego Ibarra.
Jose was arrested one day after Laken’s body was discovered and has remained in jail without bail. He is charged with 10 offenses, including murder, kidnapping, and assault.
“[Ibarra] put on a black hat, a hoodie-style jacket, and some black kitchen-style disposable gloves, and he went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus,” stated Ross during opening statements.
Black rubber gloves with holes and blood were recovered during the investigation into Laken’s murder.
As Laken fought for her life, she collected critical DNA evidence underneath her fingernails. Additionally, a dark blue jacket was reportedly found with a mixture of both Laken’s and Jose’s DNA. The prosecution alleged this evidence implicates Jose as her killer.
