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Laken Riley's Accused Killer Convicted: Crime Alert Recap Saturday 11.23.24 · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

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  Speaker 1: Crime a art hourly update, breaking crime news Now. I'm
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  Speaker 1: Jennifer Gould. It was judgment day for Jose E. Bara,
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  Speaker 1: the man accused of the horrific murder of University of
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  Speaker 1: Georgia nursing student Lake and Riley. The courtroom fell silent
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  Speaker 1: as each verdict was read aloud by Judge Patrick Haggard in.
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  Speaker 2: The State of Georgia versus Jose Antonio Obara Case SU
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  Speaker 2: twenty four Cr. Zero three two three, Count one malice murder.
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  Speaker 2: I found the defendant guilty, Count two felony murder. I
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  Speaker 2: found the defendant guilty, Count three felony murder. I found
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  Speaker 2: the defendant guilty.
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  Speaker 1: Jose Ebarra was found guilty on all ten counts in
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  Speaker 1: an Athens courtroom. Judge Haggard returned to the bench just
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  Speaker 1: nineteen minutes after both sides made their closing arguments. The
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  Speaker 1: verdict marks the end of a trial that laid bare
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  Speaker 1: the brutality of the crime and the pain it inflicted
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  Speaker 1: on the victims family and the entire community. Riley, a
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  Speaker 1: bright and promising young woman, was last seen on February
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  Speaker 1: twenty second, twenty twenty three, setting out for her morning
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  Speaker 1: jog when she failed to return. Friends and family grew
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  Speaker 1: increasingly concerned, and a frantic search ensued. Utilizing a foam
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  Speaker 1: finding app, her friends tracked her last known location to
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  Speaker 1: a wooded area near the Augusta University campus. There, sadly,
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  Speaker 1: the twenty two year old's body was discovered bloody and lifeless.
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  Speaker 1: Her head had been bashed in with a rock. The
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  Speaker 1: medical examiner found Riley died of blunt force trauma and strangulation.
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  Speaker 1: The investigation quickly zeroed in on Ebarra, a twenty six
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  Speaker 1: year old man who had recently immigrated to the United States.
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  Speaker 1: Unlike traditional jury trials, Ebarra opted for a bench trial,
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  Speaker 1: meaning a single judge would decide his fate. Prosecutors painted
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  Speaker 1: a chilling picture of the events leading up to Riley's
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  Speaker 1: tragic death. They argued that Ebarra had been quote hunting
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  Speaker 1: end quote for women on the morning of the murder,
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  Speaker 1: and that Riley became his target, but she quote fought
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  Speaker 1: for her life and her dignity end quote during the
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  Speaker 1: brutal attack for eighteen excruciating minutes. Surveillance footage captured Ebarra
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  Speaker 1: loitering near campus, and witnesses testify to seeing him acting
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  Speaker 1: suspiciously in the area. The prosecution's case relied heavily on
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  Speaker 1: forensic evidence, including DNA analysis and cell phone data. They
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  Speaker 1: presented evidence that Ibarra's DNA was found under Riley's fingernails
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  Speaker 1: and his thumb print on her cell phone. Prosecutors also
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  Speaker 1: say a navy blue jacket Ibarra was wearing that Fateful day,
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  Speaker 1: found discarded in a dumpster not far from the crime scene,
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  Speaker 1: had both his and Riley's blood on it. Witnesses testified
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  Speaker 1: that Ibarra had a history of stalking and harassing women.
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  Speaker 1: Just hours before Riley's murder, he had been accused of
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  Speaker 1: peering into a woman's window. The defense, in a desper
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  Speaker 1: attempt to cast out on the prosecution's case, suggested alternative
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  Speaker 1: theories about Riley's death, going so far as to pin
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  Speaker 1: the crime on Ibarra's brother, Diego. They also insisted that
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  Speaker 1: the evidence in the case was circumstantial. Throughout the trial,
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  Speaker 1: Ebarra's demeanor was unsettling. He often appeared disengaged and emotionless,
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  Speaker 1: even when confronted with the horrific details of the crime,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes even smiling in court. That callous behavior continued as
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  Speaker 1: each guilty count was read aloud while Riley's family sobbed
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  Speaker 1: and held hands, relieved that their daughter would finally receive justice.
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  Speaker 1: Ibarra was charged with malice, murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, and
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  Speaker 1: related crimes, and subsequently sentenced to life in prison without
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  Speaker 1: the possibility of pearl.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Nicole Hart. Susan Smith, who has spent three decades
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  Speaker 3: serving a life sentence for the tragic deaths of her
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  Speaker 3: two young sons in nineteen ninety four, was denied parole
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  Speaker 3: by the South Carolina Board of Paroles and Pardons on Wednesday.
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  Speaker 3: During her hearing, Smith appeared via video to advocate for
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  Speaker 3: her release, expressing remorse for her actions. She is currently
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  Speaker 3: incarcerated at Leath Correctional Institute after admitting to driving her
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  Speaker 3: vehicle into a lake, resulting in the deaths of her
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  Speaker 3: three year old son, Michael and fourteen month old son Alex. Quote.
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  Speaker 3: I understand that what I did was inexcusable, she sobbed
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  Speaker 3: as she addressed the board.
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  Speaker 1: There's a marvel.
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  Speaker 4: I want to say, how You're sorry.
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  Speaker 1: I am It's okay. Susan just talked with us.
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  Speaker 3: It was so horrible.
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  Speaker 4: And I will give anything I give and change it,
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  Speaker 4: and I love.
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  Speaker 3: Michael and allens O. The board inquired about Smith's past
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  Speaker 3: disciplinary issues while in prison, to which she responded that
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  Speaker 3: she had gained valuable insights from her past behavior. Concluding
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  Speaker 3: her testimony, Smith requested the board to consider granting her parole.
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  Speaker 3: The hearing then shifted to allow witnesses to voice their opposition,
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  Speaker 3: including David Smith, her ex husband, and the boy's father.
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  Speaker 3: Quote what she did to Michael and Alex almost destroyed me.
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  Speaker 3: The grief was unbearable, David Smith stated before the board.
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  Speaker 3: In November nineteen ninety four, the then twenty three year
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  Speaker 3: old Susan Smith reported that a black man had carjacked
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  Speaker 3: her taken her children in the town of Union, South Carolina,
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  Speaker 3: which sparked a widespread manhunt and significant media coverage. However,
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  Speaker 3: it was later revealed that her sons were already dead,
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  Speaker 3: secured in their car seats at the bottom of nearby
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  Speaker 3: John D. Long Lake from the outset. Investigators questioned the
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  Speaker 3: validity of Smith's claims, and eventually, under intense scrutiny, she
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  Speaker 3: confessed to the heinous act of driving her car into
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  Speaker 3: the lake. The case garnered international attention and her murder
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  Speaker 3: trial in nineteen ninety five was closely followed around the globe.
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  Speaker 3: The prosecution highlighted evidence of Smith's affair with her boss's
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  Speaker 3: wealthy son, who had recently ended the relationship due to
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  Speaker 3: his reluctance to have children. Smith's defense argued that she
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  Speaker 3: was battling severe depression and pseudicidal thoughts, claiming she had
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  Speaker 3: intended to die with her children. Ultimately, she was found
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  Speaker 3: guilty of murder. Now fifty three, Smith has completed thirty
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  Speaker 3: years of her life sentence, making her eligible for parole
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  Speaker 3: in accordance with the laws in place during her trial.
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  Speaker 3: According to the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and
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  Speaker 3: Pardon Services, parole is granted to violent offenders only about
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  Speaker 3: eight percent of the time. As of early November, the
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  Speaker 3: Office of Victim Services reported receiving over three hundred and
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  Speaker 3: sixty communications regarding Smith's parole hearing, with nearly all but
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  Speaker 3: six opposing her release.
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  Speaker 4: I'm Drew Nelson, a nephew in Texas, allegedly shoots his uncle,
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  Speaker 4: claiming he felt unloved and unwelcome in the home. Authorities
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  Speaker 4: arrested twenty two year old Antonio Guzman after he confessed
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  Speaker 4: to killing his uncle, Jose Torres in Harris County. The
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  Speaker 4: shooting happened to Torres's home. Guzman, who had been raised
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  Speaker 4: by Torres for six years, said he felt unwanted in
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  Speaker 4: the home. According to police, Torres, ag thirty seven, was
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  Speaker 4: trimming trees outside his house that afternoon. A neighbor, Lysette Acosta,
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  Speaker 4: said she noticed him working while she was on her
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  Speaker 4: way to her job, saying that they held eye contact
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  Speaker 4: for a moment as she backed her fan out. Torres
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  Speaker 4: was supposed to pick up his family from school later
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  Speaker 4: that day, but when he never arrived, they had to
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  Speaker 4: find another ride home. Upon arriving, they found Torres inside,
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  Speaker 4: shot in the face multiple times. Neighbors heard the family
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  Speaker 4: screams as they discovered the scene. Acosta told k t
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  Speaker 4: r K she said that.
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  Speaker 3: Is because the monk came to her and then she
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  Speaker 3: was crying. She said, they kill my little baby, and
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  Speaker 3: she hugged my mom, so my mom started crying too.
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  Speaker 4: The investigator said. Surveillance footage showed Guzman at the house
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  Speaker 4: around the time of the murder. He allegedly entered the home,
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  Speaker 4: shat Torres, and then left. Guzman was eventually arrested at
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  Speaker 4: his own residence. Police said they tracked him down using
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  Speaker 4: video footage showing him limping away from the scene. Torres's
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  Speaker 4: wife told officers that he had anger control problems, owned
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  Speaker 4: a gun, and was known to have a foot ailment
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  Speaker 4: that caused him to limb. During questioning, Guzman reportedly confessed
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  Speaker 4: he admitted to going to his uncle's house and shooting
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  Speaker 4: him while they were alone because he felt unloved and unwelcome.
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  Speaker 4: Guzman was charged with murder and being held on a
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  Speaker 4: two hundred thousand dollars bond. The judge ordered him not
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  Speaker 4: to contact the family if he's released on bond. Jose
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  Speaker 4: Torres was remembered as a dedicated public service. He worked
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  Speaker 4: as a dispatcher for the Spring Branch Independent School District
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  Speaker 4: Police Department and was known for his kindness and service.
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  Speaker 4: The department said in a statement, quote, he devoted his
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  Speaker 4: life to serving and protecting our community. He will be
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  Speaker 4: remembered for his own wavering commitment, his kindness, and his
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  Speaker 4: service to others. For the latest crime and justice news,
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  Speaker 4: follow Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app
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  Speaker 4: with this crime Alert. I'm Drew Nelson.