The on-campus killing of nursing student Laken Riley by a Venezuelan migrant stems from the negligence of Georgia’s university system and several property managers, her father alleges in a lawsuit.
Jason Riley, whose 22-year-old daughter was killed on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, is suing the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and those he says allowed her convicted killer, Jose Ibarra, to live nearby.
In his complaint, filed Monday in Gwinnett County State Court, Jason Riley alleges the board’s failures include employing Ibarra’s brother and maintaining an unsafe property. He says the board also failed to monitor criminal activity on campus and warn students about Ibarra after he tried to assault another female student around an hour before killing Laken Riley.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
“Had defendant Board of Regents warned the public, the Athens community, and students such as Ms. Riley of the threat posed by Ibarra, Ibarra would not have had the opportunity to assault and murder Ms. Riley in February 2024,” the complaint says.
A spokesperson for the board told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they do not comment on pending litigation.
The board and other state authorities were notified a year ago about Jason Riley’s claims, as required by Georgia law.
In a February 2025 notice attached to the lawsuit, Jason Riley’s then-lawyers said he seeks damages of at least $1 million, based on a relevant statutory cap. The notice said Laken Riley’s mother and estate were separately pursuing legal claims.
Jason Riley’s attorney, David Carter, said the father wants to make sure the parties liable in relation to his daughter’s death are held accountable to prevent another tragedy.
“The family of Laken Riley has been through a horrible ordeal, and we would not wish this to happen to anybody ever again,” Carter told the AJC.
The suit comes a year after President Donald Trump signed into law the Laken Riley Act, giving federal immigration agencies broad authority to detain migrants accused of a variety of crimes.
Ibarra entered the U.S. without authority in 2022 and, after his arrest, became the poster child for Trump’s anti-immigration policies during the 2024 election campaign.
Ibarra was living near the University of Georgia campus at an apartment complex on South Milledge Avenue, authorities said. It was less than half a mile from where Laken Riley’s body was found at the University of Georgia’s intramural exercise trails.
Ibarra, 26 at the time of his arrest, lived in an apartment with his brothers, Diego and Argenis Ibarra, who also entered America without authority, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Diego Ibarra briefly filled a position as a dishwasher in the University of Georgia’s Bolton dining hall after presenting a fake green card, the university confirmed. A spokesperson said Diego Ibarra was never paid and was fired as soon as his immigration status was discovered.
In his lawsuit, Jason Riley accuses the owners and operators of the Ibarra brothers’ apartment complex of negligence. He alleges they allowed Jose Ibarra to live there “without regard to the legality of his status in the United States and without regard to his violent criminal history.”
Before he was arrested in relation to Laken Riley’s death, Jose Ibarra had been apprehended by federal and local authorities in multiple jurisdictions. He was accused of stealing from Walmart in Athens and had earlier been charged in New York with a motor vehicle license violation and acting in a manner to injure a child.
Jason Riley alleged the Ibarra brothers’ apartment complex was owned and operated in February 2024 by Azulyk Athens LLC and its manager, Omar Zavala.
Attempts to contact Zavala were not immediately successful Thursday. Azulyk Athens became a defunct company in September, according to the Georgia secretary of state’s office.
Jason Riley claims the apartment complex was acquired in 2024 by a Tennessee company, The Argo Apartments LP, which is a successor in interest to Azulyk Athens. He alleges The Argo Apartments, which has a registered agent in Gwinnett County, is also liable for negligence in relation to his daughter’s death.
Attempts to contact The Argo Apartments were not immediately successful Thursday.
The lawsuit includes claims against other entities and individuals, not yet identified by name, behind the ownership, operation and maintenance of the apartment complex and University of Georgia campus.
The residential property was sold in 2025 for $8.8 million, a Tennessee real estate investment services firm announced in July.
It is now called The Grove at Five Points. A spokesperson did not immediately comment on the case.
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