In a case that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over immigration during the 2024 election, the bench trial for the suspect in the murder of a nursing student on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus is underway.

The bench trial for murder suspect Jose Ibarra began Friday as the prosecution laid out evidence in the Laken Riley slaying.

In the nine months since Laken Riley was killed while jogging at the University of Georgia, her death turned into a lightning rod over crime and illegal immigration and cast an ominous shadow over the college town of Athens.

The trial for Jose Ibarra, the man accused of murdering nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus, began on Friday morning. Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco was in the courtroom as prosecutors and Ibarra’s defense attorneys gave opening statements and started calling witnesses.