What we know about Jose Antonio Ibarra, the man charged with murdering a Georgia nursing student

On a February morning earlier this year, nursing student Laken Riley, 22, set off on her regular morning jog around the University of Georgia campus. She never returned.

Her disappearance set off a desperate search to find her and bring her home safe – a search that came to a tragic end later that day when her beaten body was found along her running route. Riley died of blunt force trauma in the attack.

Now, Jose Antonio Ibarra, 26, is behind bars and has been charged with Riley’s murder.

His trial was set to begin on November 13 with jury selection but, at a pre-trial hearing, he waived his right to a jury trial and requested a bench trial instead. A bench trial is where a judge decides the facts and makes a ruling on the case, instead