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.

Jose Ibarra, the suspect charged in Augusta University student Laken Riley's February murder on UGA's campus, is to appear in court on Friday for the start of his trial.

The man accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has waived his right to a jury, paving the way for his bench trial, which is expected to begin Friday morning.

A trial is set to get underway for a man accused of killing a Georgia nursing student earlier this year, in a case that fanned the immigration debate in the last election cycle.

A bench trial is set to begin Friday for the suspect accused of murdering 22-year-old nursing student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia's campus. The suspect, Jose Ibarra, waived his right to a jury trial this week.

The case was swept up in the debate over immigration after investigators said the perpetrator was a migrant from Venezuela who entered the U.S. illegally.

In Athens court on Friday, opening statements in the murder trial of Jose Ibarra, accused of killing Laken Riley, begin.

Former DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Jonathan Fahey joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss his take on the suspect requesting a trial by judge and a new report alleging smugglers are telling migrants to storm the southern border.

The body of the 22-year-old was found on the University of Georgia campus after a friend told police she had not returned from her morning run.