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The morning that she died, Laken Riley did everything right. The University of Georgia nursing student let her friends and her mom know she was going for a run on campus. She even shared her location on her smartwatch and told her roommates where she would be. 

Despite making every effort to stay safe, the 22-year-old rule follower crossed paths with someone who broke every rule, including crossing the border illegally. 

Jose Ibarra wasn’t supposed to be in the United States much less in Athens, Georgia, but he didn’t let laws stand in the way of what he wanted and when he saw Laken Riley jogging past, he decided he wanted to her, too.

Ibarra seemed to always take what he wanted. Just a couple of hours before he attacked and tried to sexually assault Laken, he had been spotted peeping in the window and trying the doorknob of the apartment of another coed, apparently on the prowl for his next victim. 

Laken fought for him fiercely for nearly twenty minutes. Prosecutors say she was determined he wouldn’t rape her. Her smartwatch, meant to help keep her safe, ended up recording the evidence of her murder. 

Although Laken did everything she was supposed to do, she paid the price for others who didn’t. 

Join us for the latest episode of Gulf Coast Confidential on this crime of opportunity for a criminal who should never have even been here in the first place. 

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