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1 Killer Of Laken Riley Found Guilty And Sentenced To Life In Prison
The trial of Venezuelan Jose Ibarra came to an end yesterday, with Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard issuing a guilty verdict on all 10 counts against him in the death of Laken Riley, including one count of malice murder, three counts of felony murder, and one count each of kidnapping with bodily injury, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, evidence tampering, and being a peeping Tom. Ibarra had waived his right to a jury trial, leaving the verdict solely in the hands of Judge Haggard. After a recess, Judge Haggard sentenced Ibarra to life in prison without the possibility of parole, meaning he will spend the rest of his life in jail in Georgia. It was the maximum sentence he could impose on Ibarra; defense attorney John Donnelly had asked Haggard to give Ibarra two consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole. Before the trial began, prosecutors decided to not seek the death penalty in the case.
2 Two People Dead From Bomb Cyclone In Pacific Northwest
The powerful bomb cyclone battering the Pacific Northwest claimed two lives yesterday. In Bellevue, Washington, a tree fell into a home and killed a woman while she was in the shower. The second fatality happened in Lynwood when a tree fell on a homeless encampment, killing a woman in her 50s. Up to four inches of rain were recorded across Washington state, Oregon, and northern California by yesterday afternoon, and it’s just getting started. Forecasts call for 12 to 18 inches of rainfall by tomorrow. Over 470-thousand customers were without power in Washington state alone yesterday, but power crews worked quickly to restore a large portion of them. Flash flooding, rockslides, and landslides are all likely today from the storm, with a high-risk alert for excessive rainfall issued. In the Northern California mountains, blizzard conditions will be possible starting today with one to four feet of snow and wind gusts between 50 and 70 mph possible.
3 Prosecutors Can Seek Death Penalty Against Bryan Kohberger
District Court Judge Steven Hippler has ruled that Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students two years ago, will face the death penalty in his case if prosecutors decide to pursue it. Prosecutors have said in court filings that there are four aggravating factors in Kohberger’s case that merit the death penalty, including that there are multiple victims, the murders were “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel,” that there was “utter disregard for human life,” and that the suspect has “a propensity to commit murder which will probably constitute a continuing threat to society.” A jury would agree that at least one of those factors applies, and would then have to unanimously agree to a death sentence.