As court began Tuesday in the trial of the man accused of murdering nursing student Laken Riley while she was out for a run on the University of Georgia campus, the judge ruled that a jailhouse phone call between suspect Jose Ibarra and his wife would not be admitted into evidence.
In the phone call heard on Monday, Ibarra’s wife Layling Franco, begs him to tell the truth about what happened that February day.
Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard ruled that the phone call will not be received as evidence or considered, citing the 6th Amendment’s right for the accused to confront witnesses.
An FBI agent also testified that Ibarra’s cellphone location data places him “very close” to Riley at the time of her murder, with the victim’s smartwatch revealing the moment her heart stopped beating.
Prosecutors are expected to rest the case against Ibarra – a Venezuelan native who entered the US illegally – on Tuesday, with the defense then presenting around half a day of testimony. If convicted, Ibarra could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The murder case became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration during this year’s presidential campaign.