The roommates mentioned they used Discover My Pals app on their to go searching for the 22-year-old.
ATHENS, Ga. — The trial for the man accused of killing a 22-year-old nursing scholar on the College of Georgia’s campus started Friday with testimony that included her roommates.
Riley, an Augusta College nursing scholar, was killed on Feb. 22 whereas out for a run close to the intramural fields on UGA’s campus. The actions of her roommates after she did not return residence aided officers through the early hours of the investigation.
Testimony shared in court docket Friday revealed Riley lived with Lilly Steiner, Sofia Magana and Connolly Huth. Steiner, 22, described the connection she shared with Riley, saying they had been principally household.
“Laken introduced a way of pleasure to all of our lives that has been lacking ever sense,” she mentioned.
On the morning of Feb. 22, Steiner mentioned she wished to get espresso with Riley, and she or he did not see her in the home, so she checked her location on the Discover My Pals app. It confirmed that Riley was on a path that she usually runs. A map from the app was displayed in court docket whereas Steiner was on the stand.
“It was about 9:30 from what I keep in mind,” she mentioned when she checked the app initially.
“Once I acquired residence from my first set of errands and I noticed that Laken nonetheless wasn’t residence, that wasn’t uncommon as a result of it was about an hour after I checked her first location, so I believed perhaps she was simply nonetheless on a run,” she added.
She checked once more round roughly 10:45 a.m., which she mentioned then raised some considerations as a result of the app confirmed she was in the identical location.
“I texted Laken simply checking in on her after which addressing Connolly in a bunch message, I mentioned, ‘She’s been within the woods some time.'”
This was the identical day AT&T was experiencing outages, so Steiner mentioned she did not have cellphone service if she wasn’t linked to the WiFi at residence. She mentioned after 10:45 a.m., she left residence once more and returned round 11:30 a.m.
“I instantly pulled in and I noticed Sofia standing exterior along with her canine and I acquired out of the automobile and she or he instantly mentioned, ‘Can we go search for Laken?'” Steiner testified.
They left residence trying to find their roommate, utilizing the Discover My Pals app to information them. They went to the situation displayed on their cellphone however did not discover her there.
“After we had been strolling, Sofia seen an… AirPod that was sitting on the path proper round the place her location was,” Steiner added. “She picked it up, sort of assuming it was Laken’s.”
After they returned residence, she known as the UGA Police Division, Steiner testified. The cellphone name was performed in court docket.
Magana additionally took the stand, sharing what occurred that morning as they looked for Riley. She mentioned once they got here throughout the AirPod, they took photos of it and picked up it. She, too, did not have cellphone service whereas she was away from residence due to the AT&T outage.
“I informed her (Lilly) we had been going to stroll again to name the police as a result of we each did not have service,” she mentioned.
After putting the decision, Magana mentioned she went to select up Huth they usually returned to the world to fulfill up with the police and Steiner. They talked with a police sergeant on the fields and confirmed them the place Laken’s cellphone was pinging. He requested them to screenshot it and e mail it to him.
Physique digicam footage then confirmed him transferring by means of the woods with their screenshot. That is how he discovered Riley’s physique.
The third roommate, Huth, primarily testified about Riley’s working habits.
“She all the time had a watch on,” she mentioned. “She would take heed to music whereas working; generally, when she was alone, she would name her mother.”
Court docket continued with extra testimony Friday and resumed once more Monday morning. Jose Ibarra faces a number of prices within the case, together with homicide.
