Allison Phillips, Laken Riley's mother, cried in the courtroom as photos of her daughter's desperate last stand etched on the accused killer's arm were shown.
A photo of Ibarra's arm covered in scratches taken the day after the Georgia nursing student's death was shown, prompting Riley's grief-stricken mother to burst into tears.
During opening statements Friday, prosecutors claimed that Riley, 22, “fought for her life” against Jose Ibarra for 18 minutes before her death, and that Ibarra's DNA was found under her fingernails.
Ibarra's injuries were shown to the courtroom for a second time during the testimony of a University of Georgia police officer as he went to Ibarra's home the day after the killing that preceded his arrest. Several photos of Ibarra's scratched arms, wrists and hands were shown for the first time Friday, with prosecutors saying they were evidence he was Riley's killer.
When Sgt. Joshua Epps was at Ibarra's home the day after the murder. He said Ibarra smoked a cigarette before his arrest.
Ibarra and three of her roommates talked and laughed with each other, while Phillips shook her head at the testimony, Ibarra said.
“They thought it was funny how many police cars we had,” Epps testified.
Phillips cried throughout her appearance in court on Friday, and graphic photos and videos of her daughter's body were revealed after she was severely beaten and suffocated to death.
