November 20, 2024 • 41 mins
Jose Ibarra, the sole suspect in the murder of University of Georgia jogger Laken Riley, has been found guilty on all charges. The ten charges include three counts of felony murder, malice murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and “peeping Tom.”
In emotional testimony, University of Georgia Police Sgt. Sophie Raboud detailed the final moments of Riley’s life, breaking down the timeline into minutes. Before her final jog, Riley texted her mother at 8:55 a.m., asking if she was free to talk. At 9:03 a.m., Riley called her mother. She then listened to music and was seen on a trail camera at 9:05 a.m., holding her iPhone in her left hand as she jogged toward the intramural fields. By 9:06 a.m., Riley ran out of the camera’s view.
Minutes later, at 9:11 a.m., Riley activated the SOS function on her iPhone to call 911. The dispatcher was unable to speak with her before the call was disconnected. The dispatcher attempted to call back twice but received no answer. Riley’s phone later received a call from her mother at 9:24 a.m. When Riley failed to respond, her mother sent a text at 9:38 a.m. reading, “Call me when you can.”
During closing arguments, State Prosecutor Shelia Ross outlined the evidence supporting each charge, describing Ibarra as “a monstrously guilty individual.”
Defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck presented two alternative theories: that DNA was transferred onto clothes found in the apartment, implicating Ibarra’s brother Diego as the murderer, or that Ibarra may have been an accomplice but not the primary culprit.
Ultimately, Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Jose Ibarra guilty on all counts.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
- Philip Dubé – Court-Appointed Counsel, Los Angeles County Public Defenders: Criminal & Constitutional Law; Forensics & Mental Health Advocacy
- Dr. Angela Arnold – Psychiatrist, Atlanta GA. Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital
- Sheryl McCollum – Forensics Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder; Host of Podcast: “Zone 7;” X: @149Zone7
- Scott Eicher- founding member of the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team (C.A.S.T); Historical Cellular Analysis Expert; Former FBI agent of 22 years; Former Police Officer and Homicide Detective with Norfolk Virginia Police Dept. having served 12 years; Currently with Precision Cellular Analysis handling Criminal, Defense and Civil case
- Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)
- Dave Mack - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace guilty, guilty on all accounts,
illegal immigrant Jose Ebarra guilty, and the brutal murder of
uga co ed lacn Riley out for a morning jog
(00:24):
this after murdered. Lacan's mother's frantic text to her just
before her daughter's body found brutalized, and Nancy Grace, this
is crime Stories, thank you for being with us.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And what is the text says, good morning, about to
go for a run?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Is you're a freaking daughter? And did she in fact
call her mother? She did in the last hours a
stunning verdict in an Athens, Georgia courtroom, illegal immigrant migrant
worker Jose Ebara guilty and the brutal murder of a
gorgeous young Deans student Lake and Riley with me an
(01:10):
all star penalty. Make sense of what we are hearing
straight out to Dave Matt joining us at the courthouse.
You know, Dave mac as the defense put up a
semblance of a case, it almost seemed to me as
if they weren't really trying or Dave, is it a
matter of the fact they didn't have that much to
(01:30):
work with?
Speaker 3 (01:31):
I think they didn't have that much to work with Nancy,
and they were trying to point the finger at jose
Ivar's brother, Diego in particular, and that was what the
whole point of their defense was going to be. Because
they didn't have anything else but last minute stuff. They
had planned to call Diego and their other brother to
the stand as.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
Part of their defense testimony. Didn't do it.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
They actually presented some things to the judge late last
night and then decided not to call jose A Bara's
brothers as part of this case.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, and I think I know why. Joining me, founder
director of Cold Case Research Institute, star of Zone seven podcast,
Cheryl McCollum, I think you and I know why Diego
Ebarra didn't take the stand.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Absolutely, He's a known gang member. He is a criminal,
and there's nothing he could say that can help his
brother unless he got himself into some trouble.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Line to the court, what a day in an American courtroom,
A case that stunned the nation in its brutality. Comes
to a close straight out to Philip Dubay joining us
high profile lawyer in the La County Public Defender's Office.
Of course, Diego Ebarra, which is really where the defense
(02:46):
had hung its hat, was not going to come in
and jeopardize himself by saying what I did it.
Speaker 6 (02:51):
Well, a couple of problems.
Speaker 7 (02:53):
First of all, I believe the prosecution violated due process.
They should have never presented that third part culprit defense
in its case in chief. The prosecution has to build
its case completely independent of the defense case, and by
hijacking that defense and building into its case in chief
is illegal. And the reason why is that the defense
(03:17):
Oh sorry, I fell asleep.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Why didn't they call diego Ebor to the stand nutshell,
we're playing ping pong, not chess.
Speaker 7 (03:24):
Because they would not immunize him should he say something incriminating.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
And I believe he means that I did it.
Speaker 7 (03:31):
No, I mean what if, hypothetically he said something that
could be contorted and twisted into a tacit admission. What
protection does the young man have. He's already an immigration jeopardy,
having to go back to a country where we have
no diplomatic relations. He's not going to do anything to
compromise his status, let alone go to prison.
Speaker 6 (03:50):
Okay, you know what, Cheryl mccoum.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
You're not a lawyer, much less a high profile lawyer
like Philip Debay, But.
Speaker 6 (04:00):
Can you give it to me?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
In a nutshell, there's no way in h e double
l The Diego Ebara was going to take the stand
to defend his brother on a brutal attempted rape and
murder charge bludgeoning a co ed dead with a rock.
And what was he going to say to save his brother? Yeah,
you got the wrong guy, I really did it.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
Zero chance he was ever going to take this stand.
Anything that he says can and will be used against them.
While he's sitting there, what was he going to say, Yes,
that's my hat, Yes, I.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Was wearing it the day she was murdered.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
He cannot say anything truthfully that could help his brother.
His brother is own video fulcan being a predator hunting
for a victim. He's own video walking to the path
where he attacked lakeln Riley. Then he's own video discarding
(04:58):
bloody clothing that as his DNA and Lakeland together them.
His fingerprint is on her sell phone. His brother Diego
could say nothing to help Hooset nothing.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
And in one.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
More twist, Cheryl McCollum, if the brother Diego Ebara had
taken the stand and there was quite a courtroom skirmish
over whether he would take the stand. Whatever he said,
even if he took responsibility, even if he tried to
give his brother an alibi, would subject him to perjury charges. Look,
he would get He's going to get deported anyway, much
(05:35):
less taking the stand and lying. Now, remember this was
a bench trial. This has been a bench trial from
the get go, with the defense wanted to have the
case heard before a judge and not a jury. So
throughout this entire trial we have seen great deference given
to Lincoln Riley's family. Now this judge, remember as he's
(05:58):
looking out at the family, he had to render a
verdict and sentencing after this. Listen.
Speaker 8 (06:06):
In shocking testimony, University of Georgia police sergeant Sophie Rabout
recounts the last moments of Lake and Riley's life, breaking
down the minutes into a timeline. Preparing for the last
jog of her life, Lake and Riley reaches out to
her mother by text at a fifty five am asking
if she's free to talk. At nine oh three am,
(06:26):
Riley calls her mother. Leake and Riley then listens to
music and is seen on a trail camera at nine
oh five am. She carries her iPhone in her left hand,
which is facing toward the intramur fields. At nine oh
six am, Lake and Riley runs out of view of
the camera.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Now this testimony regarding the final texts sent by Laken
to her mother. Her mother in court throughout the trial
sobbing at the memory of those texts, and then mom
tries to call back.
Speaker 9 (06:59):
Listen data collected from the Garmin watch Lake and Riley
was wearing on her jog her heart was no longer
beating at nine to twenty eight am. She does not
reply to her mother's text at nine thirty eight am
and fails to answer phone calls. Her mother sends another
text at nine fifty eight am. You're making me nervous,
not answering when you're out running. Are you okay? And
(07:22):
another text from her mother at eleven forty seven am,
pleading please call me. I'm worried sick about you.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
You know to Scott Iiker, joining us founding member of
the FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey Team. Scott can be found
at PCA Experts dot com. Scott, I know you deal
with data. You deal with satellites and raw digital and
(07:48):
sell data every day of your life. Amazing that you're
a founding member of the FBI Sell Analysis Team Cellular analysis.
How does it feel you have been analyzing the digital
facts that we know so far, the data that came
(08:10):
forward at trial, but to hear it put in such
human terms. For instance, her Garmin watch shows her heart
stopped beating at nine twenty eight, she's texting her mother,
trying to reach her mom, trying to call her at
nine o three. By nine twenty eight, she's dead in
(08:33):
twenty five minutes. By nine p fifty eight, her mother
is sending repeated texts, you're making me nervous. You're not
answering when you're out running, are you okay? It's almost
as if the mom had a foreboding premonition, and it's
all proven through Sell data analysis. Scott, I agree.
Speaker 10 (08:58):
This information that you can like from not only the
cell phone, the victim's cell phone, but the defendant cell
phone and the garment watch really puts it all together.
It was fantastic how the cast agent that testified in
this case and the officers that downloaded the garment information
they put it all together in this presentation that really
(09:20):
did show the judge that this information showed that the
defendant's phone and the victim's phone were in the same
area at the time of her death, at the time
of her heart stopped stopped beating. It's sad, but it's
fantastic when we can get this information together at all
at once.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
And the defense actually brings forward a witness suggesting that
it was another trail gooer that could have murdered Laken.
But the poignant nature of the video you're seeing right now,
no doubt, had a huge impact on the judge.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
And I mean, think about it.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
To doctor Angela Arnold joining us renowned psychiatrist in the
Atlanta jurisdiction at Angela Arnold MD dot com. The mother,
the whole family sitting in the well watching this trial
and they have to see Lacn's final moments and she
was out.
Speaker 6 (10:20):
Running free before.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
She was so brutally murdered. And Mom has to remember
those moments we're talking about. And the judge sees all
of this happening and he knows what the evidence is.
Mom has to sit there and listen to the call
where her daughter tried to call her, the text where
her daughter was texting her, her trying to call back,
(10:43):
those moments where she had no idea Laken was already
dead or was in the middle of an attack.
Speaker 11 (10:51):
Nancy, I am not sure that this is something that
the mother will ever be able to recover from. This
is a trauma that she has suffered. And anyone who
is a mother, I'm sure is feeling the exact same
way about this. How unsafe, how unsafe somebody can be
just to go out on a run. I feel for
(11:13):
that mother from the bottom of my heart. Nancy, It's
a tragedy beyond belief.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Well another thing, doctor Angie, there is such a thing
as survivor guilt. The mom forever chastising herself, saying, oh,
what if I had called her and we had gotten
in a conversation. What if I had picked that phone
up or answered that text and we talked for ten minutes.
Would jose E Barro have picked somebody else? I mean,
I've thought over and over in my mind for years.
(11:43):
What if I had kept Keith at the house at
my parents' house for twenty extra minutes the morning he left.
Would it have made a difference. I mean, it's so
hard on the victims' families.
Speaker 11 (11:54):
And I'm sure Nancy, like you said, you're still thinking
about that, Nancy. How And there's certain things we can't control.
The mother will think that forever, and yes, she will
have some form of survivor guilt on top of the traumatic,
the post traumatic stress disorder that this poor woman will suffer.
(12:16):
She will have nightmares, she will not be able to sleep.
She's going to see Laken, She's going to replay this
in her mind for years. It's a tragedy beyond belief.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I'm just looking at the video, Cheryl, and you and
I have walked the scene over and over and over
and traced her route, but looking at her as she
rounds that bend out just running, young, free as a bird, beautiful,
(12:54):
so full of vitality, so alive, and she runs and
runs and turns that corner, and you and I looking
at it, we know that corner and we know what
awaited her. I mean, it's heartbreaking, it really is.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
It's so heartbreaking, especially sitting in the courtroom with her mama,
and you know she's watching that just thinking, oh my god,
if I could stop her, if I could just make
her take a rite instead of a lift. Nancy, you
and I know he was laying in wait, he had
already spent seventy three minutes looking for a victim, and
(13:34):
he lay in wait until Lakelyns came up owning and
he brutally attacked her, beating her with a rock.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
You know, Cheryl, how many times have you and I
cornered each other and shown each other pictures and videos.
I've looked at the twins videos throughout, you know, from
day one all the way through, and I kind of
relive it, relive that moment taking that video, seeing them
(14:07):
so young and happy and alive. And this video the
mom in court when she saw this, it was a
dagger to her heart.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
Shehrrel It was gut wrenching to watch her. And you know,
Nancy again, I think the prosecutor put it so beautifully
today that Lakeland she got it, she fought him, she
put evidence on his body, she got it. And Sheila
(14:37):
all said that she twisted a powerful knot that the
defendant can't get out of, and she's absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Back to Dave Mack joining us outside the courtroom, Dave
mac threw out the state's closing argument. As prosecutor Ross
went through the evidence to the judge, Lincoln's mother just
she just sobbed just audibly sobbed. Anyone could hear it,
(15:09):
and it would be over my dead body if they
tried to silence her in that courtroom. And I don't
know if you noticed a bar acted like he didn't
hear anything.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
He acts like he's in traffic court, Nancy. He doesn't
act like any of this matters to him, that he
is part of it at all. He actually is being
very disconnected is probably the best way to put it.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
He just is totally not there.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
And when you actually are laying out the facts of
this case, okay, there are no doubts. The closing argument
is just basically laying out the map. Here's what happened,
here's how we know he did it, and it's all there.
There's no way of looking at this any other way.
That's why there was a conclusion the way I was,
there was nothing else they could come up with in
terms of any kind of defense. You know, the only
(15:53):
defense they had, Nancy was well it was his brother maybe,
but his brother was That was part of the rebuttal
witness Tody, you know, for the prosecution, was to say
Diego was asleep. Nothing proves he wasn't asleep at the
time that killing appen eleven forty.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Seven am and coming text from her mother said please
call me.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
I'm worried sick about you.
Speaker 6 (16:12):
Is that text spread?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Is not? Her house of death is decombined, effects of force,
head trauma and asphysia. What is her manner of that homicide? Oh,
blunt force trauma with a rock still covered in Liacan's
blood and hair and asphyxia. You were just hearing doctor
(16:34):
Michelle DeMarco, the medical examiner that testified for the state.
That is just one piece of evidence that weighed into
the judge's finding of guilty, Jose Ebarra guilty and the
murder of this beautiful young co ed lacoln Riley in
(16:55):
the opening statement, So we heard Prosecutor Ross state that
Ibarra was out hunting, hunting for a woman, and he
lay in wait, waiting for a victim to go by.
And here comes Lake and Wright. Look at him hiding,
hiding in the bushes amongst the trees, just waiting. What
(17:19):
was going through his mind?
Speaker 6 (17:22):
Do I know?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
No? Do I care?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
No?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
I don't have to go into the mind of a
killer and would be rapist and figure out what he's thinking.
But look at him, look at him pacing waiting for
a victim to come by, and she did. But this victim,
as Prosecutor ros said, refused to be his rape victim,
(17:46):
and she fought tooth and nail, providing the state with
valuable and probative evidence.
Speaker 6 (17:56):
In the charges, we see a assault.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
So the intent to rape the defendant Ebarra was indicted.
I have the indictment right here in my hand, with
ten counts. In addition to malice murder charges that means
intent to kill is shown, there are felony murder charges,
which means a death occurred during the commission of a felony. Now,
(18:21):
what did the state offer to support a guilty verdict
for attempted rape which proves felony murder? Listen, then, waste standard.
Speaker 12 (18:31):
Her pants had been moved to the backside of her
running pants were pulled down, exposing the top of her buddocks.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Joining us at the courthouse, Crime online dot COM's investigative
reporter Dave Mac Dave uh oh, by the way, you
were just hearing that from our friends at the national desk.
That was trial testimony from special agents Lucas Bayer. Dave
Mac Lucas Bayer home run home run for the state.
(18:59):
Did you you hear that testimony you've been in court
where he describes how her waistband, the backside of her
pants were pulled down over her career end, and of
course she was left exposed that way. I mean, why
else would Ibarro be pull trying to pull her pants
off if he wasn't trying to rape her.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
That was the whole point he was making. Nancy. You know,
Lucas Bayer was such a good witness.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
They even brought him back as the rebundal witness after
the defense closing because they were trying to point the
arrow at Diego at Ibarra, you know, and it was
Lucas Bayer they brought back to the stand. Is that
there's no evidence that Diego was anywhere other than in
better sleep.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
And there is more.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Listen, the clothing was pulled up extremely high above her breast,
which completely exposed her breasts. Cheryl McCollum, I don't see
that the judge really had any choice at all on
the agasault to rape crime stories with Nancy Grace. For
(20:12):
those of you just joining us, Hosei Ebara guilty guilty
in the murder of Lake and Riley we've got an
aggravated battery, which is beating her with a rot in
the head, but count three to support a felony murder charge.
The underlying felony is aggravated assault with intent to rape.
(20:36):
And you are hearing GBI special Agent Lucas Bayer laying
it out. We got that from our friends at the
National Desk. I mean, Cheryl McCollum. Did you hear what
he said last? Her clothing was pulled up high up
above up to her neck as she was left that
way with her breasts exposed.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
Nancy three layers of clothing, her jacket, her shirt, her
sports bra were all moves above her breast to expose them.
Her pants had been pulled down, her underwear had been
pulled and torn. And I also want to remind you
one of the injuries that Lakelan Riley left on Jose
oh Bara was between his shoulder base on his back,
(21:20):
which he didn't get running away. He got that because
he was on top of her.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
And there's more. Listen to GBI special agent Lucas Bayer.
Speaker 12 (21:29):
The sports braw had been manipulated so that had become
the outermost layer of her clothing.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Buyer on the stand from our friends at the National desk,
Philip Debay, high profile lawyer joining us out of LA
who has covered the case from the get go. Really,
you don't think is there any way with a straight
face debate, a straight face that you could argue this
was not aggravated assault with the intent to rate because
(21:58):
in closing arguments, the defense attorney argued earlierly this morning
that there was reasonable doubt. I don't see any reasonable
doubt there. The waistpin of her pants pulled down over
her rear end, her clothing yanked up around her neck.
She's left with her breast and rear end exposed, her
underwear torn, and the sports bra had been so jerked
(22:20):
around it was on the outside of her clothing.
Speaker 7 (22:23):
Wrong place, wrong time. There were hundreds of people on
and off campus at the same time. What I think
would have been the appropriate argument would be to say
he happened upon the body already dead, and as a
crime of opportunity, he rifled through her things, and you
tried to take advantage of the situation and is in
fact not the perpetrator, And in the process it was
(22:44):
transfer of DNA and the scratches are completely unrelated. The
DNA expert could not testify that the cells found under
her fingernails were not from transfer. He could have been
touching her hands, going through her purse, going through her pockets,
whatever she had on her and in the process touched
the phone. You have no eyewitness or video putting him
(23:06):
at the crime scene at the time. Instead, you have
him after the fact, wrong place and wrong time.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Well, thank Heaven, the judge did not listen to any
gibberish such as that, did you actually say maybe he
went through her things? You mean her underwear and her
sports bra, those things.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
I'm talking about whoever actually did it, and he happened
upon it after the fact and there was transfer. Look,
you don't have an eyewitness, you don't have video, you
don't have anything else. I'm not saying he's an angel,
but he took advantage of the situation if that were
to be believed, And it doesn't necessarily prove a homicide,
It certainly doesn't prove a felony murder committed during the
(23:47):
commission of a stalking. I mean, under Georgia law, stalking
is a misdemeanor, So you don't even have.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Anybe We're talking about an attempted rape A we're talking
about attempted rape, not stalking.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
You know what, what.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Did I've tried so many trials I can't even count
them all. Don't try to confuse the charges. We're not
talking about a stalking charge. This is felony murder with
the underlying felony being attempted rape is an attempted rape
a felony in LA. Of course it is, of course
(24:23):
it is. But what I don't know what you're talking
about stalking.
Speaker 7 (24:26):
The allegation was that he was following and lying in
wait and hanging out peeping through windows.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
It says, no, that's not an allegation. That's what I'm
arguing here, because I know that he stood there for
about an hour. Cheryl McCollum. Stalking is not part of
this case. That is not an indicted charge. But just
to prove Philip Dubay wrong, jump in Cheryl.
Speaker 5 (24:47):
Is he was not killing her. Why would he hang
up on nine one one and throw the phone. He
did that because Lincoln knew she was in danger, and
when she called now one one, he grabbed the phone,
just engaged that call and threw it away from her.
Is fingerprint was on the phone with her blood on it.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
A Hollah, that's bodycam from the ug A p D.
(25:37):
Sergeant Joshua EPs Allah Allah Vamas could not wake him up,
Cheryl McCollum. The judge clearly believed the state's argument that
after the murder of Lake and Riley, beautiful young deansless student,
jose Ebara had a great night's sleep. In fact, the
(25:59):
words he slept like a baby. Did you look at this?
Speaker 6 (26:04):
They could hardly wake him up.
Speaker 5 (26:06):
He was sound asleep to the point they could hardly
wake him up. And Nancy, the most just horrific part
of this whole thing is knowing her mama ain't fled
a full night since her baby was murdered. And this
man is going to walk out of that house start
chatting among his friends and started laughing. And the judge
(26:28):
didn't miss that either.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
In closing arguments early this morning, we heard the defense
attorney arguing that there were alternate theories as to what happened,
one being that the brothers Diego Ebara and jose Ebara mingled,
co mingled their clothing in the apartment. And we see
(26:50):
that's absolutely true. It's a big mess, and that somehow
there was a transference onto I guess she's trying to say,
diego Ebarra's close, so therefore implicating diego Ebarra. That's what
was argued in the defense closing. But listen to more
(27:14):
of this bodycam footage. We played that for you because
(27:49):
there you can hear more of the conversation by the
uh PD sergeant Joshua Epps telling him to come slowly.
Uh Ebarra is starting to walk further in the house
and the officer chastises him. At that point, Ibarra puts
on his shoes and walks out to doctor Angela Arnold.
I think I need a shrink right now. For those
(28:10):
of you just joining us. Ibarra guilty. The judge had
no other choice, and I think a jury would have
agreed as well, Doctor Angie Arnold, how can you, according
to the state, now proven in a court of law,
brutally attempt to rape a young girl jogging by wait
in the woods for her, attack her, murder her by
(28:35):
bludgeting her with a rock and then leaving her dead, bloody,
her face is figured and her private parts exposed, and
then get a good night's sleep.
Speaker 11 (28:48):
Because Nancy, we are dealing with the severest of a sociopath. Here,
he has no conscience. Do you notice how, over the
course of all of this, we have all become so
attached to Lake and Riley, haven't we. She's a beautiful girl.
She brings out feelings inside of us. We all think
(29:10):
of our own children when we look at this beautiful
girl and what happened to her. And he sits in
the courtroom with no emotion on his face because Nancy,
he is a sociopath. And you know what else that means, Nancy,
I wish I could tell the judge this. He is
(29:30):
not capable of rehab. They need to put him under
the jail and pour some concrete on him. There is
no possibility of this person ever being rehabilitated because there's nothing.
Speaker 6 (29:44):
There's nothing to rehab.
Speaker 11 (29:46):
He doesn't have any empathy, he doesn't feel any remorse.
The entire country looks at this beautiful girl and feels
for her mother, They feel for her family. He did
this to her, and he feels nothing because he is
the severest of a sociopath and he needs to be
done away with Nancy.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Crime stories with Nancy Grace guilty guilty. Jose Ebara found
guilty in a court of law in the brutal murder
of a beautiful young co ed UGA nursing student lacln Riley.
Speaker 6 (30:34):
What went in to that verdict finding?
Speaker 1 (30:38):
You heard Philip debate earlier arguing it could have been
someone else, and I want you to hear this and
closing arguments, the defense actually argued to the judge with
a straight face that lacoln Riley, the murder victim, should
have could have outrun jose Ebarra. Why why is that relevant?
(31:04):
Because the defense Caitlin Beck, argued that jose Ebarra was
shorter end quote fatter than brother Diego. So I guess
she's arguing the killer had to be Diego, the brother
because he was taller and faster. They actually argued that.
(31:26):
But back to real evidence.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Listen, a match between the contact slobbings from the jacket
and jose Abara is approximately one hundred trillion times more
probable than a coincidental match to an unrelated person in
the population.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
That from our friends at the National desk. You were
hearing the GBI Crime Lab analyst Ashley Hinkle, Did you
hear that dubet one hundred trillion times?
Speaker 7 (31:51):
But you could not eliminate and it is a match.
She could not eliminate transfer.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Okay, problem, hold on, there is a match. I think
I think that we can eliminate transfer because Dave Mack
joining us at the courthouse. Isn't it true that video
catches Jose Ebara.
Speaker 6 (32:11):
Throwing that jacket.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Not Diego the brother, but Jose Ebarra throwing that jacket
into up there he is that's the same shirt he
was wearing one hour earlier, posting on.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
Nancy what's happened that video?
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Okay, the video of him throwing the jacket into the dumpster,
that is what they've used to say Diego is the
killer because they said that. One of the friends that
actually was interviewed by Belie said she thought it was
Diego throwing the jacket in the dunster.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
Now she wasn't one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Sure, but a friend who knew them both much better said, no,
that's Jose. So that's for the defense got their whole
idea was from the winds say I think Diego.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
Throwing the jacket away.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
That entire defense strategy came from that one comment from.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Somebody who was not even sure.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Okay, so to believe that mac, I mean I've seen.
I was sitting in court when the state showed the
photo of Jose E Barra one hour before the murder
posting selfies wearing that exact shirt. I'd like to see
it because it has very unusual markings. There is there.
Speaker 6 (33:20):
He is in the shirt one hour later throwing the.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Jacket with a one hundred trillion likelihood DNA match. So
I don't know what dubet is talking about. Transfer And
listen about the fingernail clippings.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
The DNA match between the wet rush swabbings from the
fingernail clippings from the right hand and the match was
to Jose Antonio.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Abara still Ashley Hinkle on the stand from our friends
at the National desk, and there's more on the fingernail
DNA match.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
The match is ten million times more probable than a
coincidental match to an unrelated pushing in the population.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Okay, Philip Dubay, ten billion likelihood, one hundred trillion likelihood.
There's no chance of the transfer because you just saw
jose Ebora throwing that jacket into the trash minutes after
Laken is killed. So when's the transfer.
Speaker 7 (34:20):
There's a difference between consciousness of guilt and throwing that away,
and consciousness of fear. He obviously realized that there was
some type of zerological evidence on the jacket and dumped
it out of fear of being accused.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
So he dumped it.
Speaker 7 (34:33):
I mean, that's how I would have attacked it. It
doesn't necessarily mean just because biological evidence is on your
clothing that you're the culprit. We've seen this in history.
We saw it a few months ago out of the
Detroit murder where a well known Jewish community advocate was
murdered by knife in front of her home. The defendant
was caught on video outside of her home. He testified
(34:54):
he was acquitted. He said he touched her as an
afterthought to try to rifle through her belonging see what
was happening. The jury believed him in this case, the
judge would not have believed him.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
Speaking of fantastical arguments, the defense also argued that Jose
Ebara was just an accomplished that maybe two men were
involved in Lacoln's murder and two rocks that makes it
so easy for the judge to find Eborra guilty. Joining
me right now, a special guest, renowned medical examiner doctor
(35:29):
Kendall Crown's chief medical examiner, Terrence County, Esteemed lecturer at
the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU Dodgor Kendl Crowns,
you and I have gone over and over the autopsy
evidence in this case. Could you describe what happened to
lacoln certainly so.
Speaker 13 (35:48):
She has one trauma to the head from the rock
that set the scene with the blood on it, that
has caused lacerations or kind of splitting of the skin,
and a depressed call fracture which has kind of putshing
in of the skull itself from being struck over and
over and over with the rock. She also has what
they've described as asphyxia. The medical examiner said she had
(36:10):
signs of a sixia at the autopsy. That can be
particular hemorrhages of the eye, which are a little bursting
of the capillaries on your eye. It can also be
hemorrhages and the knuck musculature from a manual strangulation. So
probably she's strangled, wakes back up Annox and then beats
(36:32):
her head in with a rock or he hits her
with a rock, she passes out. He's trying to rape her.
What she wakes back up and then he strangles her.
Either way, it's pretty bad now.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
I always wondering, Dubey, we'll have a big fit over
this based on what doctor Kendall Crown's has just told us,
what lacoln went through as she fought for her life.
Why the defendant didn't take the stand and testify. Hey,
if you're not guilty, where were you? What were you doing?
Listen your war you want to tour and you want to.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Give you no sense?
Speaker 1 (37:11):
I guess he didn't. That's my friends at the National
Death Cheryl McCollum. You just heard what doctor Kendall Crowns
explained happened to Lakan and her fight to live, how
she was humiliated, attacked, brutalized, her face disfigured. Did you
really think a barrow was going to take the stand?
Speaker 5 (37:33):
Not a shot? And I'll tell you something. We can
talk about her injuries and those are vital. To understand
that the injuries that she gave to him, to me,
are just as vital. She punched him dead in the mouth,
She scratched him on the wrist, on the throat, on
the back of the neck, on his back, on his elbow,
(37:54):
on his arm. She fought for those eighteen minutes like
her life depended on it, because she knew it did.
Speaker 14 (38:03):
One of the defense's first witnesses is a neighbor of
the Ebarras. The woman says Diego Ebarra approached her the
evening of February twenty second, asking why the complex is
crawling with cops. In broken Spanish, the woman tells him
a young lady lost her life behind the complex. Aware
that it's along Diego's path to work, she encourages him
(38:24):
to speak up if he saw anything suspicious. Two officers
briefly check in on Ibarra.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
And the woman. When they walk away.
Speaker 14 (38:32):
The woman says, Diego Ebarra urgently type something into the
translator app for her to read.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
The defense, trying to shift blame on Jose Ibarra's brother, Diego.
It didn't work. Straight back out to doctor Kendall Crowns,
joining us. We're now medical examiner out of Terrant County.
Doctor Kendall Crowns, we know that Lake and fought that
she fought for her life. She refused to be Jose
(38:59):
ebar as next rape victim. How long would she have
lived sustaining the injuries she did to her skull.
Speaker 13 (39:09):
So the injuries to the skull with the depressed skull fracture,
she could have survived that. Had a concussion, she could
have potentially, depending on how much brain damage there was,
been still able to survive that injury. If it was
severe enough, she probably could have died within minutes of
(39:29):
receiving it. It all depends on how much damage the
skull fracture went through into her brain. The strangulation, on
the other hand, she'd probably be on unconscious when a
little over ten to twenty seconds, and if he continued
to apply pressure, she'd be dead within about four to
five minutes.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Cheryl McCollum, it's beyond understanding for me that the defense
actually argued maybe there were two assailants in two.
Speaker 5 (39:59):
Rocks, you know, Nancy. The injuries to his wrist and
his elbow. Says to me, she probably knocked the first
lock out of his hand, and he simply grabbed the
second one and finished the job. To the point part
of her skull was in her brain. He beat her,
He beat her violently. He set out that morning to
(40:23):
find a victim. He did not care who.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
In my mind, the judge had no alternative other than
finding Ebara guilty in the murder of Lacoln. Riley, Yes,
a verdict has been rendered. He's not the only one
sentenced in this case. Her mother, her family are sentenced
(40:48):
to life without Lacoln. Their sentence to life remembering what
she suffered. They are sentenced to life remembering those last
images of her running free. Lake and Raleigh rest in peace.
(41:12):
Good night friends,
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace guilty, guilty on all accounts,
illegal immigrant Jose Ebarra guilty, and the brutal murder of
uga co ed lacn Riley out for a morning jog
(00:24):
this after murdered. Lacan's mother's frantic text to her just
before her daughter's body found brutalized, and Nancy Grace, this
is crime Stories, thank you for being with us.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
And what is the text says, good morning, about to
go for a run?
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Is you're a freaking daughter? And did she in fact
call her mother? She did in the last hours a
stunning verdict in an Athens, Georgia courtroom, illegal immigrant migrant
worker Jose Ebara guilty and the brutal murder of a
gorgeous young Deans student Lake and Riley with me an
(01:10):
all star penalty. Make sense of what we are hearing
straight out to Dave Matt joining us at the courthouse.
You know, Dave mac as the defense put up a
semblance of a case, it almost seemed to me as
if they weren't really trying or Dave, is it a
matter of the fact they didn't have that much to
(01:30):
work with?
Speaker 3 (01:31):
I think they didn't have that much to work with Nancy,
and they were trying to point the finger at jose
Ivar's brother, Diego in particular, and that was what the
whole point of their defense was going to be. Because
they didn't have anything else but last minute stuff. They
had planned to call Diego and their other brother to
the stand as.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
Part of their defense testimony. Didn't do it.
Speaker 3 (01:51):
They actually presented some things to the judge late last
night and then decided not to call jose A Bara's
brothers as part of this case.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, and I think I know why. Joining me, founder
director of Cold Case Research Institute, star of Zone seven podcast,
Cheryl McCollum, I think you and I know why Diego
Ebarra didn't take the stand.
Speaker 5 (02:12):
Absolutely, He's a known gang member. He is a criminal,
and there's nothing he could say that can help his
brother unless he got himself into some trouble.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Line to the court, what a day in an American courtroom,
A case that stunned the nation in its brutality. Comes
to a close straight out to Philip Dubay joining us
high profile lawyer in the La County Public Defender's Office.
Of course, Diego Ebarra, which is really where the defense
(02:46):
had hung its hat, was not going to come in
and jeopardize himself by saying what I did it.
Speaker 6 (02:51):
Well, a couple of problems.
Speaker 7 (02:53):
First of all, I believe the prosecution violated due process.
They should have never presented that third part culprit defense
in its case in chief. The prosecution has to build
its case completely independent of the defense case, and by
hijacking that defense and building into its case in chief
is illegal. And the reason why is that the defense
(03:17):
Oh sorry, I fell asleep.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Why didn't they call diego Ebor to the stand nutshell,
we're playing ping pong, not chess.
Speaker 7 (03:24):
Because they would not immunize him should he say something incriminating.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
And I believe he means that I did it.
Speaker 7 (03:31):
No, I mean what if, hypothetically he said something that
could be contorted and twisted into a tacit admission. What
protection does the young man have. He's already an immigration jeopardy,
having to go back to a country where we have
no diplomatic relations. He's not going to do anything to
compromise his status, let alone go to prison.
Speaker 6 (03:50):
Okay, you know what, Cheryl mccoum.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
You're not a lawyer, much less a high profile lawyer
like Philip Debay, But.
Speaker 6 (04:00):
Can you give it to me?
Speaker 1 (04:01):
In a nutshell, there's no way in h e double
l The Diego Ebara was going to take the stand
to defend his brother on a brutal attempted rape and
murder charge bludgeoning a co ed dead with a rock.
And what was he going to say to save his brother? Yeah,
you got the wrong guy, I really did it.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
Zero chance he was ever going to take this stand.
Anything that he says can and will be used against them.
While he's sitting there, what was he going to say, Yes,
that's my hat, Yes, I.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Was wearing it the day she was murdered.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
He cannot say anything truthfully that could help his brother.
His brother is own video fulcan being a predator hunting
for a victim. He's own video walking to the path
where he attacked lakeln Riley. Then he's own video discarding
(04:58):
bloody clothing that as his DNA and Lakeland together them.
His fingerprint is on her sell phone. His brother Diego
could say nothing to help Hooset nothing.
Speaker 6 (05:12):
And in one.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
More twist, Cheryl McCollum, if the brother Diego Ebara had
taken the stand and there was quite a courtroom skirmish
over whether he would take the stand. Whatever he said,
even if he took responsibility, even if he tried to
give his brother an alibi, would subject him to perjury charges. Look,
he would get He's going to get deported anyway, much
(05:35):
less taking the stand and lying. Now, remember this was
a bench trial. This has been a bench trial from
the get go, with the defense wanted to have the
case heard before a judge and not a jury. So
throughout this entire trial we have seen great deference given
to Lincoln Riley's family. Now this judge, remember as he's
(05:58):
looking out at the family, he had to render a
verdict and sentencing after this. Listen.
Speaker 8 (06:06):
In shocking testimony, University of Georgia police sergeant Sophie Rabout
recounts the last moments of Lake and Riley's life, breaking
down the minutes into a timeline. Preparing for the last
jog of her life, Lake and Riley reaches out to
her mother by text at a fifty five am asking
if she's free to talk. At nine oh three am,
(06:26):
Riley calls her mother. Leake and Riley then listens to
music and is seen on a trail camera at nine
oh five am. She carries her iPhone in her left hand,
which is facing toward the intramur fields. At nine oh
six am, Lake and Riley runs out of view of
the camera.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
Now this testimony regarding the final texts sent by Laken
to her mother. Her mother in court throughout the trial
sobbing at the memory of those texts, and then mom
tries to call back.
Speaker 9 (06:59):
Listen data collected from the Garmin watch Lake and Riley
was wearing on her jog her heart was no longer
beating at nine to twenty eight am. She does not
reply to her mother's text at nine thirty eight am
and fails to answer phone calls. Her mother sends another
text at nine fifty eight am. You're making me nervous,
not answering when you're out running. Are you okay? And
(07:22):
another text from her mother at eleven forty seven am,
pleading please call me. I'm worried sick about you.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
You know to Scott Iiker, joining us founding member of
the FBI's Cellular Analysis Survey Team. Scott can be found
at PCA Experts dot com. Scott, I know you deal
with data. You deal with satellites and raw digital and
(07:48):
sell data every day of your life. Amazing that you're
a founding member of the FBI Sell Analysis Team Cellular analysis.
How does it feel you have been analyzing the digital
facts that we know so far, the data that came
(08:10):
forward at trial, but to hear it put in such
human terms. For instance, her Garmin watch shows her heart
stopped beating at nine twenty eight, she's texting her mother,
trying to reach her mom, trying to call her at
nine o three. By nine twenty eight, she's dead in
(08:33):
twenty five minutes. By nine p fifty eight, her mother
is sending repeated texts, you're making me nervous. You're not
answering when you're out running, are you okay? It's almost
as if the mom had a foreboding premonition, and it's
all proven through Sell data analysis. Scott, I agree.
Speaker 10 (08:58):
This information that you can like from not only the
cell phone, the victim's cell phone, but the defendant cell
phone and the garment watch really puts it all together.
It was fantastic how the cast agent that testified in
this case and the officers that downloaded the garment information
they put it all together in this presentation that really
(09:20):
did show the judge that this information showed that the
defendant's phone and the victim's phone were in the same
area at the time of her death, at the time
of her heart stopped stopped beating. It's sad, but it's
fantastic when we can get this information together at all
at once.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
And the defense actually brings forward a witness suggesting that
it was another trail gooer that could have murdered Laken.
But the poignant nature of the video you're seeing right now,
no doubt, had a huge impact on the judge.
Speaker 6 (10:00):
And I mean, think about it.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
To doctor Angela Arnold joining us renowned psychiatrist in the
Atlanta jurisdiction at Angela Arnold MD dot com. The mother,
the whole family sitting in the well watching this trial
and they have to see Lacn's final moments and she
was out.
Speaker 6 (10:20):
Running free before.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
She was so brutally murdered. And Mom has to remember
those moments we're talking about. And the judge sees all
of this happening and he knows what the evidence is.
Mom has to sit there and listen to the call
where her daughter tried to call her, the text where
her daughter was texting her, her trying to call back,
(10:43):
those moments where she had no idea Laken was already
dead or was in the middle of an attack.
Speaker 11 (10:51):
Nancy, I am not sure that this is something that
the mother will ever be able to recover from. This
is a trauma that she has suffered. And anyone who
is a mother, I'm sure is feeling the exact same
way about this. How unsafe, how unsafe somebody can be
just to go out on a run. I feel for
(11:13):
that mother from the bottom of my heart. Nancy, It's
a tragedy beyond belief.
Speaker 1 (11:19):
Well another thing, doctor Angie, there is such a thing
as survivor guilt. The mom forever chastising herself, saying, oh,
what if I had called her and we had gotten
in a conversation. What if I had picked that phone
up or answered that text and we talked for ten minutes.
Would jose E Barro have picked somebody else? I mean,
I've thought over and over in my mind for years.
(11:43):
What if I had kept Keith at the house at
my parents' house for twenty extra minutes the morning he left.
Would it have made a difference. I mean, it's so
hard on the victims' families.
Speaker 11 (11:54):
And I'm sure Nancy, like you said, you're still thinking
about that, Nancy. How And there's certain things we can't control.
The mother will think that forever, and yes, she will
have some form of survivor guilt on top of the traumatic,
the post traumatic stress disorder that this poor woman will suffer.
(12:16):
She will have nightmares, she will not be able to sleep.
She's going to see Laken, She's going to replay this
in her mind for years. It's a tragedy beyond belief.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
I'm just looking at the video, Cheryl, and you and
I have walked the scene over and over and over
and traced her route, but looking at her as she
rounds that bend out just running, young, free as a bird, beautiful,
(12:54):
so full of vitality, so alive, and she runs and
runs and turns that corner, and you and I looking
at it, we know that corner and we know what
awaited her. I mean, it's heartbreaking, it really is.
Speaker 5 (13:10):
It's so heartbreaking, especially sitting in the courtroom with her mama,
and you know she's watching that just thinking, oh my god,
if I could stop her, if I could just make
her take a rite instead of a lift. Nancy, you
and I know he was laying in wait, he had
already spent seventy three minutes looking for a victim, and
(13:34):
he lay in wait until Lakelyns came up owning and
he brutally attacked her, beating her with a rock.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
You know, Cheryl, how many times have you and I
cornered each other and shown each other pictures and videos.
I've looked at the twins videos throughout, you know, from
day one all the way through, and I kind of
relive it, relive that moment taking that video, seeing them
(14:07):
so young and happy and alive. And this video the
mom in court when she saw this, it was a
dagger to her heart.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
Shehrrel It was gut wrenching to watch her. And you know,
Nancy again, I think the prosecutor put it so beautifully
today that Lakeland she got it, she fought him, she
put evidence on his body, she got it. And Sheila
(14:37):
all said that she twisted a powerful knot that the
defendant can't get out of, and she's absolutely right.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Back to Dave Mack joining us outside the courtroom, Dave
mac threw out the state's closing argument. As prosecutor Ross
went through the evidence to the judge, Lincoln's mother just
she just sobbed just audibly sobbed. Anyone could hear it,
(15:09):
and it would be over my dead body if they
tried to silence her in that courtroom. And I don't
know if you noticed a bar acted like he didn't
hear anything.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
He acts like he's in traffic court, Nancy. He doesn't
act like any of this matters to him, that he
is part of it at all. He actually is being
very disconnected is probably the best way to put it.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
He just is totally not there.
Speaker 3 (15:32):
And when you actually are laying out the facts of
this case, okay, there are no doubts. The closing argument
is just basically laying out the map. Here's what happened,
here's how we know he did it, and it's all there.
There's no way of looking at this any other way.
That's why there was a conclusion the way I was,
there was nothing else they could come up with in
terms of any kind of defense. You know, the only
(15:53):
defense they had, Nancy was well it was his brother maybe,
but his brother was That was part of the rebuttal
witness Tody, you know, for the prosecution, was to say
Diego was asleep. Nothing proves he wasn't asleep at the
time that killing appen eleven forty.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Seven am and coming text from her mother said please
call me.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
I'm worried sick about you.
Speaker 6 (16:12):
Is that text spread?
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Is not? Her house of death is decombined, effects of force,
head trauma and asphysia. What is her manner of that homicide? Oh,
blunt force trauma with a rock still covered in Liacan's
blood and hair and asphyxia. You were just hearing doctor
(16:34):
Michelle DeMarco, the medical examiner that testified for the state.
That is just one piece of evidence that weighed into
the judge's finding of guilty, Jose Ebarra guilty and the
murder of this beautiful young co ed lacoln Riley in
(16:55):
the opening statement, So we heard Prosecutor Ross state that
Ibarra was out hunting, hunting for a woman, and he
lay in wait, waiting for a victim to go by.
And here comes Lake and Wright. Look at him hiding,
hiding in the bushes amongst the trees, just waiting. What
(17:19):
was going through his mind?
Speaker 6 (17:22):
Do I know?
Speaker 1 (17:23):
No? Do I care?
Speaker 2 (17:24):
No?
Speaker 1 (17:25):
I don't have to go into the mind of a
killer and would be rapist and figure out what he's thinking.
But look at him, look at him pacing waiting for
a victim to come by, and she did. But this victim,
as Prosecutor ros said, refused to be his rape victim,
(17:46):
and she fought tooth and nail, providing the state with
valuable and probative evidence.
Speaker 6 (17:56):
In the charges, we see a assault.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
So the intent to rape the defendant Ebarra was indicted.
I have the indictment right here in my hand, with
ten counts. In addition to malice murder charges that means
intent to kill is shown, there are felony murder charges,
which means a death occurred during the commission of a felony. Now,
(18:21):
what did the state offer to support a guilty verdict
for attempted rape which proves felony murder? Listen, then, waste standard.
Speaker 12 (18:31):
Her pants had been moved to the backside of her
running pants were pulled down, exposing the top of her buddocks.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
Joining us at the courthouse, Crime online dot COM's investigative
reporter Dave Mac Dave uh oh, by the way, you
were just hearing that from our friends at the national desk.
That was trial testimony from special agents Lucas Bayer. Dave
Mac Lucas Bayer home run home run for the state.
(18:59):
Did you you hear that testimony you've been in court
where he describes how her waistband, the backside of her
pants were pulled down over her career end, and of
course she was left exposed that way. I mean, why
else would Ibarro be pull trying to pull her pants
off if he wasn't trying to rape her.
Speaker 4 (19:21):
That was the whole point he was making. Nancy. You know,
Lucas Bayer was such a good witness.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
They even brought him back as the rebundal witness after
the defense closing because they were trying to point the
arrow at Diego at Ibarra, you know, and it was
Lucas Bayer they brought back to the stand. Is that
there's no evidence that Diego was anywhere other than in
better sleep.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
And there is more.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Listen, the clothing was pulled up extremely high above her breast,
which completely exposed her breasts. Cheryl McCollum, I don't see
that the judge really had any choice at all on
the agasault to rape crime stories with Nancy Grace. For
(20:12):
those of you just joining us, Hosei Ebara guilty guilty
in the murder of Lake and Riley we've got an
aggravated battery, which is beating her with a rot in
the head, but count three to support a felony murder charge.
The underlying felony is aggravated assault with intent to rape.
(20:36):
And you are hearing GBI special Agent Lucas Bayer laying
it out. We got that from our friends at the
National Desk. I mean, Cheryl McCollum. Did you hear what
he said last? Her clothing was pulled up high up
above up to her neck as she was left that
way with her breasts exposed.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
Nancy three layers of clothing, her jacket, her shirt, her
sports bra were all moves above her breast to expose them.
Her pants had been pulled down, her underwear had been
pulled and torn. And I also want to remind you
one of the injuries that Lakelan Riley left on Jose
oh Bara was between his shoulder base on his back,
(21:20):
which he didn't get running away. He got that because
he was on top of her.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
And there's more. Listen to GBI special agent Lucas Bayer.
Speaker 12 (21:29):
The sports braw had been manipulated so that had become
the outermost layer of her clothing.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Buyer on the stand from our friends at the National desk,
Philip Debay, high profile lawyer joining us out of LA
who has covered the case from the get go. Really,
you don't think is there any way with a straight
face debate, a straight face that you could argue this
was not aggravated assault with the intent to rate because
(21:58):
in closing arguments, the defense attorney argued earlierly this morning
that there was reasonable doubt. I don't see any reasonable
doubt there. The waistpin of her pants pulled down over
her rear end, her clothing yanked up around her neck.
She's left with her breast and rear end exposed, her
underwear torn, and the sports bra had been so jerked
(22:20):
around it was on the outside of her clothing.
Speaker 7 (22:23):
Wrong place, wrong time. There were hundreds of people on
and off campus at the same time. What I think
would have been the appropriate argument would be to say
he happened upon the body already dead, and as a
crime of opportunity, he rifled through her things, and you
tried to take advantage of the situation and is in
fact not the perpetrator, And in the process it was
(22:44):
transfer of DNA and the scratches are completely unrelated. The
DNA expert could not testify that the cells found under
her fingernails were not from transfer. He could have been
touching her hands, going through her purse, going through her pockets,
whatever she had on her and in the process touched
the phone. You have no eyewitness or video putting him
(23:06):
at the crime scene at the time. Instead, you have
him after the fact, wrong place and wrong time.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Well, thank Heaven, the judge did not listen to any
gibberish such as that, did you actually say maybe he
went through her things? You mean her underwear and her
sports bra, those things.
Speaker 7 (23:25):
I'm talking about whoever actually did it, and he happened
upon it after the fact and there was transfer. Look,
you don't have an eyewitness, you don't have video, you
don't have anything else. I'm not saying he's an angel,
but he took advantage of the situation if that were
to be believed, And it doesn't necessarily prove a homicide,
It certainly doesn't prove a felony murder committed during the
(23:47):
commission of a stalking. I mean, under Georgia law, stalking
is a misdemeanor, So you don't even have.
Speaker 1 (23:52):
Anybe We're talking about an attempted rape A we're talking
about attempted rape, not stalking.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
You know what, what.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Did I've tried so many trials I can't even count
them all. Don't try to confuse the charges. We're not
talking about a stalking charge. This is felony murder with
the underlying felony being attempted rape is an attempted rape
a felony in LA. Of course it is, of course
(24:23):
it is. But what I don't know what you're talking
about stalking.
Speaker 7 (24:26):
The allegation was that he was following and lying in
wait and hanging out peeping through windows.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
It says, no, that's not an allegation. That's what I'm
arguing here, because I know that he stood there for
about an hour. Cheryl McCollum. Stalking is not part of
this case. That is not an indicted charge. But just
to prove Philip Dubay wrong, jump in Cheryl.
Speaker 5 (24:47):
Is he was not killing her. Why would he hang
up on nine one one and throw the phone. He
did that because Lincoln knew she was in danger, and
when she called now one one, he grabbed the phone,
just engaged that call and threw it away from her.
Is fingerprint was on the phone with her blood on it.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
A Hollah, that's bodycam from the ug A p D.
(25:37):
Sergeant Joshua EPs Allah Allah Vamas could not wake him up,
Cheryl McCollum. The judge clearly believed the state's argument that
after the murder of Lake and Riley, beautiful young deansless student,
jose Ebara had a great night's sleep. In fact, the
(25:59):
words he slept like a baby. Did you look at this?
Speaker 6 (26:04):
They could hardly wake him up.
Speaker 5 (26:06):
He was sound asleep to the point they could hardly
wake him up. And Nancy, the most just horrific part
of this whole thing is knowing her mama ain't fled
a full night since her baby was murdered. And this
man is going to walk out of that house start
chatting among his friends and started laughing. And the judge
(26:28):
didn't miss that either.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
In closing arguments early this morning, we heard the defense
attorney arguing that there were alternate theories as to what happened,
one being that the brothers Diego Ebara and jose Ebara mingled,
co mingled their clothing in the apartment. And we see
(26:50):
that's absolutely true. It's a big mess, and that somehow
there was a transference onto I guess she's trying to say,
diego Ebarra's close, so therefore implicating diego Ebarra. That's what
was argued in the defense closing. But listen to more
(27:14):
of this bodycam footage. We played that for you because
(27:49):
there you can hear more of the conversation by the
uh PD sergeant Joshua Epps telling him to come slowly.
Uh Ebarra is starting to walk further in the house
and the officer chastises him. At that point, Ibarra puts
on his shoes and walks out to doctor Angela Arnold.
I think I need a shrink right now. For those
(28:10):
of you just joining us. Ibarra guilty. The judge had
no other choice, and I think a jury would have
agreed as well, Doctor Angie Arnold, how can you, according
to the state, now proven in a court of law,
brutally attempt to rape a young girl jogging by wait
in the woods for her, attack her, murder her by
(28:35):
bludgeting her with a rock and then leaving her dead, bloody,
her face is figured and her private parts exposed, and
then get a good night's sleep.
Speaker 11 (28:48):
Because Nancy, we are dealing with the severest of a sociopath. Here,
he has no conscience. Do you notice how, over the
course of all of this, we have all become so
attached to Lake and Riley, haven't we. She's a beautiful girl.
She brings out feelings inside of us. We all think
(29:10):
of our own children when we look at this beautiful
girl and what happened to her. And he sits in
the courtroom with no emotion on his face because Nancy,
he is a sociopath. And you know what else that means, Nancy,
I wish I could tell the judge this. He is
(29:30):
not capable of rehab. They need to put him under
the jail and pour some concrete on him. There is
no possibility of this person ever being rehabilitated because there's nothing.
Speaker 6 (29:44):
There's nothing to rehab.
Speaker 11 (29:46):
He doesn't have any empathy, he doesn't feel any remorse.
The entire country looks at this beautiful girl and feels
for her mother, They feel for her family. He did
this to her, and he feels nothing because he is
the severest of a sociopath and he needs to be
done away with Nancy.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Crime stories with Nancy Grace guilty guilty. Jose Ebara found
guilty in a court of law in the brutal murder
of a beautiful young co ed UGA nursing student lacln Riley.
Speaker 6 (30:34):
What went in to that verdict finding?
Speaker 1 (30:38):
You heard Philip debate earlier arguing it could have been
someone else, and I want you to hear this and
closing arguments, the defense actually argued to the judge with
a straight face that lacoln Riley, the murder victim, should
have could have outrun jose Ebarra. Why why is that relevant?
(31:04):
Because the defense Caitlin Beck, argued that jose Ebarra was
shorter end quote fatter than brother Diego. So I guess
she's arguing the killer had to be Diego, the brother
because he was taller and faster. They actually argued that.
(31:26):
But back to real evidence.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
Listen, a match between the contact slobbings from the jacket
and jose Abara is approximately one hundred trillion times more
probable than a coincidental match to an unrelated person in
the population.
Speaker 1 (31:41):
That from our friends at the National desk. You were
hearing the GBI Crime Lab analyst Ashley Hinkle, Did you
hear that dubet one hundred trillion times?
Speaker 7 (31:51):
But you could not eliminate and it is a match.
She could not eliminate transfer.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
Okay, problem, hold on, there is a match. I think
I think that we can eliminate transfer because Dave Mack
joining us at the courthouse. Isn't it true that video
catches Jose Ebara.
Speaker 6 (32:11):
Throwing that jacket.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Not Diego the brother, but Jose Ebarra throwing that jacket
into up there he is that's the same shirt he
was wearing one hour earlier, posting on.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
Nancy what's happened that video?
Speaker 3 (32:26):
Okay, the video of him throwing the jacket into the dumpster,
that is what they've used to say Diego is the
killer because they said that. One of the friends that
actually was interviewed by Belie said she thought it was
Diego throwing the jacket in the dunster.
Speaker 4 (32:41):
Now she wasn't one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (32:42):
Sure, but a friend who knew them both much better said, no,
that's Jose. So that's for the defense got their whole
idea was from the winds say I think Diego.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
Throwing the jacket away.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
That entire defense strategy came from that one comment from.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
Somebody who was not even sure.
Speaker 1 (32:57):
Okay, so to believe that mac, I mean I've seen.
I was sitting in court when the state showed the
photo of Jose E Barra one hour before the murder
posting selfies wearing that exact shirt. I'd like to see
it because it has very unusual markings. There is there.
Speaker 6 (33:20):
He is in the shirt one hour later throwing the.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Jacket with a one hundred trillion likelihood DNA match. So
I don't know what dubet is talking about. Transfer And
listen about the fingernail clippings.
Speaker 2 (33:35):
The DNA match between the wet rush swabbings from the
fingernail clippings from the right hand and the match was
to Jose Antonio.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Abara still Ashley Hinkle on the stand from our friends
at the National desk, and there's more on the fingernail
DNA match.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
The match is ten million times more probable than a
coincidental match to an unrelated pushing in the population.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Okay, Philip Dubay, ten billion likelihood, one hundred trillion likelihood.
There's no chance of the transfer because you just saw
jose Ebora throwing that jacket into the trash minutes after
Laken is killed. So when's the transfer.
Speaker 7 (34:20):
There's a difference between consciousness of guilt and throwing that away,
and consciousness of fear. He obviously realized that there was
some type of zerological evidence on the jacket and dumped
it out of fear of being accused.
Speaker 1 (34:32):
So he dumped it.
Speaker 7 (34:33):
I mean, that's how I would have attacked it. It
doesn't necessarily mean just because biological evidence is on your
clothing that you're the culprit. We've seen this in history.
We saw it a few months ago out of the
Detroit murder where a well known Jewish community advocate was
murdered by knife in front of her home. The defendant
was caught on video outside of her home. He testified
(34:54):
he was acquitted. He said he touched her as an
afterthought to try to rifle through her belonging see what
was happening. The jury believed him in this case, the
judge would not have believed him.
Speaker 1 (35:05):
Speaking of fantastical arguments, the defense also argued that Jose
Ebara was just an accomplished that maybe two men were
involved in Lacoln's murder and two rocks that makes it
so easy for the judge to find Eborra guilty. Joining
me right now, a special guest, renowned medical examiner doctor
(35:29):
Kendall Crown's chief medical examiner, Terrence County, Esteemed lecturer at
the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU Dodgor Kendl Crowns,
you and I have gone over and over the autopsy
evidence in this case. Could you describe what happened to
lacoln certainly so.
Speaker 13 (35:48):
She has one trauma to the head from the rock
that set the scene with the blood on it, that
has caused lacerations or kind of splitting of the skin,
and a depressed call fracture which has kind of putshing
in of the skull itself from being struck over and
over and over with the rock. She also has what
they've described as asphyxia. The medical examiner said she had
(36:10):
signs of a sixia at the autopsy. That can be
particular hemorrhages of the eye, which are a little bursting
of the capillaries on your eye. It can also be
hemorrhages and the knuck musculature from a manual strangulation. So
probably she's strangled, wakes back up Annox and then beats
(36:32):
her head in with a rock or he hits her
with a rock, she passes out. He's trying to rape her.
What she wakes back up and then he strangles her.
Either way, it's pretty bad now.
Speaker 1 (36:44):
I always wondering, Dubey, we'll have a big fit over
this based on what doctor Kendall Crown's has just told us,
what lacoln went through as she fought for her life.
Why the defendant didn't take the stand and testify. Hey,
if you're not guilty, where were you? What were you doing?
Listen your war you want to tour and you want to.
Speaker 3 (37:08):
Give you no sense?
Speaker 1 (37:11):
I guess he didn't. That's my friends at the National
Death Cheryl McCollum. You just heard what doctor Kendall Crowns
explained happened to Lakan and her fight to live, how
she was humiliated, attacked, brutalized, her face disfigured. Did you
really think a barrow was going to take the stand?
Speaker 5 (37:33):
Not a shot? And I'll tell you something. We can
talk about her injuries and those are vital. To understand
that the injuries that she gave to him, to me,
are just as vital. She punched him dead in the mouth,
She scratched him on the wrist, on the throat, on
the back of the neck, on his back, on his elbow,
(37:54):
on his arm. She fought for those eighteen minutes like
her life depended on it, because she knew it did.
Speaker 14 (38:03):
One of the defense's first witnesses is a neighbor of
the Ebarras. The woman says Diego Ebarra approached her the
evening of February twenty second, asking why the complex is
crawling with cops. In broken Spanish, the woman tells him
a young lady lost her life behind the complex. Aware
that it's along Diego's path to work, she encourages him
(38:24):
to speak up if he saw anything suspicious. Two officers
briefly check in on Ibarra.
Speaker 1 (38:30):
And the woman. When they walk away.
Speaker 14 (38:32):
The woman says, Diego Ebarra urgently type something into the
translator app for her to read.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
The defense, trying to shift blame on Jose Ibarra's brother, Diego.
It didn't work. Straight back out to doctor Kendall Crowns,
joining us. We're now medical examiner out of Terrant County.
Doctor Kendall Crowns, we know that Lake and fought that
she fought for her life. She refused to be Jose
(38:59):
ebar as next rape victim. How long would she have
lived sustaining the injuries she did to her skull.
Speaker 13 (39:09):
So the injuries to the skull with the depressed skull fracture,
she could have survived that. Had a concussion, she could
have potentially, depending on how much brain damage there was,
been still able to survive that injury. If it was
severe enough, she probably could have died within minutes of
(39:29):
receiving it. It all depends on how much damage the
skull fracture went through into her brain. The strangulation, on
the other hand, she'd probably be on unconscious when a
little over ten to twenty seconds, and if he continued
to apply pressure, she'd be dead within about four to
five minutes.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Cheryl McCollum, it's beyond understanding for me that the defense
actually argued maybe there were two assailants in two.
Speaker 5 (39:59):
Rocks, you know, Nancy. The injuries to his wrist and
his elbow. Says to me, she probably knocked the first
lock out of his hand, and he simply grabbed the
second one and finished the job. To the point part
of her skull was in her brain. He beat her,
He beat her violently. He set out that morning to
(40:23):
find a victim. He did not care who.
Speaker 1 (40:26):
In my mind, the judge had no alternative other than
finding Ebara guilty in the murder of Lacoln. Riley, Yes,
a verdict has been rendered. He's not the only one
sentenced in this case. Her mother, her family are sentenced
(40:48):
to life without Lacoln. Their sentence to life remembering what
she suffered. They are sentenced to life remembering those last
images of her running free. Lake and Raleigh rest in peace.
(41:12):
Good night friends,
Host
Nancy Grace
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