Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard, who presided over the trial, wrote in an order Monday that the evidence of Ibarra’s guilt presented by the state was “overwhelming and powerful.” Dakota Taylor is facing murder charges in the the deaths of 7-month-old Micah Taylor and 8-month-old Caleb Taylor. After Ibarra waived his right to a jury trial, Haggard found him guilty of murder and other charges during the November 2024 trial and sentenced him to life in prison. A spokesperson for Ibarra’s attorneys said they plan to file an appeal. Ibarra, 28, had entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to stay while he pursued his immigration case. Prosecutors said Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus in Athens on Feb. 22, 2024, and killed her during a struggle. Riley was a student at Augusta University College of Nursing, which has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles east of Atlanta. Burke County commissioners voted Tuesday night to deny a renegotiated settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit against the sheriff. Ibarra’s trial attorneys had asked the judge to delay the trial after a DNA expert said she would need six week
