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ATHENS, Ga. — The chilling 911 call that captured Georgia nursing student Laken Riley’s horrifying final moments was played in court Friday – leaving her grieving mother in a flood of tears during the first day of opening statements.
Riley, 22, triggered the emergency function on her cell phone and called 911 while running on the University of Georgia campus around 9:11 a.m. on Feb. 22, prosecutor Sheila Ross told the Athens-Clark County courtroom.
Only a male voice was heard on the brief, muffled audio that was played in court.
Those in the courtroom listened to the operator repeating herself, saying “Clark County 911. Hello, Clark County 911. Can anyone hear me?”
The call hung up at 9:12, and the operator tried to call back but received no answer, Ross explained.
Riley’s mother, Allyson Phillips, was seen sobbing during the 911 call.
The suspect, Jose Ibarra, sat stone-faced as the call was played in court.
Earlier in the opening statements, prosecutors detailed how Riley fought for life for a staggering 18 minutes.
Ibarra, the state claimed, was “hunting for females” on the picturesque Athens campus when he came upon Riley.
“When Laken Riley refused to be his rape victim, he bashed her skull in with a rock repeatedly,” Sheila Ross alleged.
“The evidence will show that Laken fought. She fought for her life, she fought for her dignity, and in that fight, she caused this defendant to leave forensic evidence behind. She also marked her killer for the entire world to see.”
One of Riley’s friends alerted authorities that she failed to return home from her run later that morning.
The nursing student’s body was found in a wooded area off the running trail shortly after noon on the 22nd.
When The Post first contacted the Athens-Clarke County Coroner the day after Riley was killed, the office said there was “evidence of foul play” at the scene, and that it was obvious she had been killed violently.