Laken Riley's stepfather, John Phillips, became very emotional Wednesday as he read one of her final journal entries to a Georgia judge who decided the fate of the illegal immigrant convicted of murdering her.
The 22-year-old college student's journal entry contained the thoughts of a Christian woman who hoped to one day get married and be the best wife and mother she could be.
On Wednesday, Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard found Venezuelan national Jose Ibarra, 26, guilty on all 10 counts related to the attempted rape and ultimate murder of Riley.
Riley, a nursing student at Augusta University College of Nursing, had gone running on the University of Georgia's campus when Ibarra attacked her on Feb. 22.
"When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly," prosecutor Sheila Ross told Haggard on Friday when the trial began.
After Haggard reached his verdict, Phillips and other members of Riley's family addressed the court with victim impact statements before the judge sentenced Ibarra. Riley's family wanted him to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole, the stiffest sentence available to the judge.
Phillips said, "I'm so proud of Laken and the beautiful person that she was." He then read words she wrote in her journal about two months before her death.
"I think one of her last journal entries dated 12/17/23 says it best, so here we go: 'To my future husband, as silly as I feel writing this, my old small group leader once recommended it, so here I am,'" Phillips began.
Riley apparently was referring to a Christian small group she attended through church or another Christian ministry.
"To my future husband, I want you to know that I'm thinking about you and working every day to become the best wife I can be by working through my current relationships to best prepare me for ours and our kids one day. I'm focusing on God and what he defines as a faithful, Christian wife and so that I can best embody those characteristics," Phillips said as he continued to read from Riley's journal.
"I pray that you know that it is with my full faith and trust in God that I know that this relationship has been handcrafted by Him. I pray that we continue to glorify the Lord, prioritizing him in every aspect of our lives, and raise our family, our future family, to be God-fearing Christians as well," Riley wrote.
"I pray God is the center of our relationship as it is a gift from Him, I thank Him for you before I even know you. I can't wait to love you in the best way I know how for the rest of our lives," her stepfather read.
Phillips finished reading the entry saying, "I pray you know and feel the importance of our love and hopes for our relationship. No matter what challenges we face, I pray that our trust in God and love for one another overrules the obstacle. May our relationship last forever, Your future wife, Laken."
Phillips then addressed the judge directly, with his voice cracking. "That, your Honor, was our beautiful Laken. That, your Honor, is just a glimpse of what was tragically and brutally taken from her and us that day."
It sounds like she was seeking to be a woman of virtue like that described in the Bible's Proverbs 31.
Laken's family can take some solace in knowing justice was served, and she is now in heaven, safe with Jesus Christ and the Father.
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