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Footage of slain college student Laken Riley’s final moments has been released. The Augusta University nursing student was last seen alive jogging on the University of Georgia campus around 9 a.m. on Feb. 22. She disappeared moments after, and was later found dead with “visible injuries.” Authorities suspected foul play. She was 22 years old.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, the third day of murder suspect Jose Ibarra’s trial, prosecutors played footage of Riley jogging on campus before she vanished, which you can watch above via CourtTV. The footage was captured by a police mobile trailer camera set up in the area.
Prosecutors also shared the last text message Riley sent during Tuesday’s proceedings. “Good morning,” Riley wrote in the fateful message to her mother around 8:55 a.m. on Feb. 22, according to a UGA investigator who read out the message in court, per WSB TV and 11 Alive.
“…about to go for run if you’re free to talk,” Riley added. She then called her mother eight minutes later, however, there was no answer, according to a timeline shared by 11 Alive. Prosecutors noted that Riley called the police at 9:11 a.m. However, the call was abruptly cut off. 911 dispatchers called Riley back but did not get an answer. Her mother also returned her call at 9:24 a.m. with no answer.
Riley’s mother began to get worried, and phone records show that many of Riley’s family members attempted to reach her but were unsuccessful. Her body was found later that day in a wooded area near a lake.
Ibarra was arrested on Friday, Feb. 23, and charged with several offenses including murder, kidnapping and assault, according to online court records previously cited by PEOPLE. He pleaded not guilty, per ABC News, WSB-TV and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ibarra is a Venezuelan citizen who immigration officials said entered the country illegally in 2022, according CBS News and ABC News. He told the court on Tuesday that he will not testify, CNN reports.
After her death, Riley was remembered as a loyal friend who “lit up every room she walked into and brought a smile on everyone’s face,” her former roommate Bianca Tiller said, per The New York Times.
