Jose Ibarra, who entered the U.S. illegally​, is charged with murder in the February killing, which helped fan the immigration debate during this year's presidential campaign.

It was an emotional first day in court for the murder trial of Jose Ibarra, the illegal immigrant accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. President-elect Trump used her killing as part of the national immigration debate and his campaign.

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.