while living together, we often would play outside of our house in the middle of the street, specifically foursquare. listening to a playlist i made called "play time with my family." our home was such a special place to us. one that was tainted. as never been the same, nor will it ever be. shortly after laken's death, i had to come back to you ga to finish my classes without laken and without the safe space that we built together, and it was awful. every time i wanted to go somewhere, i had to drive by the apartment that provided a roof over his head while he got to rip away hours. [sobbing] life without laken has been so dull. having to learn how to navigate time without her, the grief, anger, and fear has been beyond difficult. so many people are lost without her. laken made her short time on

earth so significant that she managed to impact those who should never even met. >> sandra: need to left a colossal legacy to everyone she touched, and i have zero doubt that she is still not finished building it, and that is something jose ibarra will never be able to take away. i hope to never say his name again, but to shout laken's every chance i get. i kindly ask your honor that you help us all in our long healing journey by alerting the maximum sentence for jose that unfortunately still won't make up for the beautiful life taken. >> sophia. >> your honor, my name is sophia. i am laken riley's roommate of three years. i stand before you today with a heartfelt grief, sadness, and an overwhelming sense of loss of my best friend. laken wasn't just my best friend, she was my roommate, my sorority sister, and above all, she was my chosen

family. the joy and kindness laken brought into my life every single day can never fully be put into words. we confided in each other, supported each other through life's challenges, and celebrated our joys together. the loss of my best friend has shattered my world in ways i never thought possible. i never imagined that i would have to navigate life without her by my side. every day, her friends, family, and loved ones carry the weight of her absence, a weight that is heavy and unrelenting. laken was my fearless other half. as someone who is reserved and awkward, laken was always there to nudge me to step out of my tongue comfort zone. she would pull me out to the dance floor and encourage me to try new things and remind me to live life to the fullest. i trusted her completely, and i always knew she was there for me as i was for her. this small, precious piece of life that we once took for granted are now reminders of

what i have lost. laken taught so many people in her life in valuable lessons. she showed me how to find joy in every moment, how to embrace life with an open heart, and how to dance in a crowded room without caring what anyone else thought. these lessons will stay with me forever. laken was not just my best friend. she was a devoted daughter, a loving sister, at a cherished friend to so many. she was an exceptional student with a bright future ahead of her. destined to become a nurse who would touch countless lives with her compassion and care. and this year, her last, seeing her smile and hearing her voice, all of which brought warmth and light to all those around her. now we are forced to confront an unthinkable reality. we will never again hear the joy of her laughter, feel the warmth of her smile. or find peace in the sound of her voice.

the loss of laken has left a hole in our hearts that can never be filled. the monster who took laken's life has clearly never known love or the love laken should everyone in her life, love that was boundless, that was a testament to the amazing person she was. jose ibarra barely attacked laken and now places i fear for my safety. i now live my life in a fear constantly looking over my shoulder with a new reality that the unexpected can happen. a world laken taught me to embrace is now a world i feel unsafe in. every day, i put on a brave face as i step into my classroom, ready to support my students. i mask my emotions and fears to shield them from the harsh realities of the world. preserving their sense of security and innocence in the world, yet inside, i'm struggling.

holding back tears until i can slip away to the bathroom and wait for the school day to and so i can finally let my true emotions surface beyond those four walls. february 22nd, 2024 is a day i will never forget, is the day jose ibarra told to chose to commit in on thing a black and murder laken. he took from this world somebody who embodied love and light. jose took my light, my sense of joy, my best friend, and my other half. >> sandra: losing. >> sandra: into his left a hole in my life, feels far less dear and joyful without her, her absences felt every corner of my day-to-day life and i don't how to spill the space she once occupied but what i do know is this. laken's legacy of love, kindness, and friendship, will live in all of us who knew her. the love she gave so freely will continue to navigate this life

without her. i hope your sentence -- of the pain daily since the loss of laken. no -- it is my hope is justice will honor laken's memory and the profound impact she had on all of our lives. thank you. >> [inaudible] [sobbing] >> take your time. it's okay. do you want me to read it for

you? do you want me to read it? okay. your honor, a reading of the statement for abby. this is abby's statement that she prepared. >> it was 1:49:00 p.m. on february 22nd of 2024 that i learned laken was missing. i immediately text her. "laken, where are you? why are people saying you are missing?" just minutes after 2:17 tma camas eval came out confirming my worst nightmare. laken had been found unconscious and not breathing. laken, the girl i met in middle school and became best friends with our freshman year of high school. the girl i couldn't imagine being far away from when it came time for college so we both decided to attend the university of georgia together. the girl who stuck by me and got me through some of my toughest times in life, as well as

accompanied me during some of my best. the loss of her is something i will never be able to come to terms with. i will never be able to come to terms with the fact that i was sitting in class just on the road, going about my day, the morning this horrific event was taking place. i will never not think about the last time i saw her, the pink sweatshirt she was wearing, and the last words she ever said to me. i will never not think about all the things i would have said had i known it would be my last time seeing her and talking to her. myself, everyone up here, and the world has lost such a special person. speech when he too was intelligent, patience, loyal, driven, and kind. her pureness and love for the lord were evident and shined through her in a way unlike anyone i have ever met before. she is in a better place, but it is not fair that the rest of us still here on earth have to's

suffer because of this individual's actions. because of this individual, some of my happiest days, such as the day i get married and have kids, will be forever a comedy by a feeling of grief, a sadness that laken will not be there with me to experience them. because of this individual, i have so many fond memories, but no one here to share them with. because of this individual, i will be searching for the rest of my life for a friendship like the one i shared with laken, but i know i will never find one because ours was simply on replicable. i am here today to support laken i hope to provide only a fraction of the support she continuously gave me during her time here on earth. i miss her desperately and long for the day i get to see her again. since february 22nd of 2024, i will forever be changed.

[inaudible] >> good afternoon. february 22nd, 2022, changed my life forever. [sobbing] not being in athens that day will forever haunt me. finding out through an email will forever haunt me. seeing this posted all over social media will forever haunt me. laken riley was my best friend. the person i told everything to, and the person i trusted with anything. the pain of the last nine months has been indescribable. if you would have asked me a year ago, where i thought i'd be and what i would do in 2024, i tell you i'd be finishing up my

second to last semester of college with laken as my roommate as she finishes nursing school. i'd tell you we spent st. patrick's day together in savannah, and i tell you we went on a trip we planned to new york. i'd tell you she finally got me into running, and she would train me for the half this year. i would tell you many things, and many of our plans, but instead i get to tell you how different my year was. i get to tell you that i can't do anything by myself anymore, even in broad daylight. i get to tell you that a town i used to love being in just fills me with dread. that everywhere i go just reminds me of places we used to hang out and go to. i tell you that i can't go past her old house and haven't been able to return to the field since. i'd tell you the weight of emptiness that i feel when i still go to texter sometimes. this is now something i have to live with for the rest of my life, knowing her life was taken too soon, and things i was

looking forward to will never happen. being in each other's weddings, graduating together, and seeing each other start our careers. this wasn't just a life that was taken. it was a future stolen. it's difficult living with knowing that nothing and nobody will fill the hole that has been left in her absence peered i will never get to experience her famous belly laugh again. her comforting presence, or her cheering me on as we go through life. so many what-ifs play in my head over and over, if just one more thing, if just one more thing maybe would have changed her path that day. but instead, my reality is that she is not here, and that because of what this animal did, we have sat here all week hearing every fraction of evidence and reliving the worst days of our life on repeat. i know nothing will bring her back, even though i so badly wish it would, but justice would bring comfort to us all. no one who can take away such a light and sweet soul deserves to walk free ever again.

the death of my best friend has changed my life forever. >> [inaudible] >> hi, your honor. i've started this over and over and over. feeling paralyzed in my tho thoughts. but the overwhelming emotion is not knowing which direction to go because there is so much that can be said today. everyone has spoken so beautifully over her, and i have the privilege of getting to speak about her at her celebration of life and getting to talk about all of the beautiful and wonderful things about her.

my name is carrie howell, and my husband matt and i have had the blessing of calling laken and lawrence parents john and allison phillips are best friends. john and matt met in college, where they were roommates and fraternity brothers, and they formed a bond as friends that grew into a true brotherhood. this brotherhood between them extended to connect our families together in the same exact way. it is a friendship that runs deep and loves big. our families and children have grown up together and had many adventures and vacations together over the last 20 plus years. we have had the privilege and joy of watching laken and lauren grow up. 272 days ago, on the morning of february 22nd, 2024, our lives were forever changed in a way none of us could have ever imagined.

the moment i got the call from my husband that laken had not returned home from her morning run, that no one could get her on the phone and she was missing, i knew in my heart something horrific had happened to her. i had the worst feeling that she was no longer with us, but i prayed and prayed and prayed as i frantically got ready to make the drive to athens to be with my friends. i was begging the lord for her to still be alive, and as terrible as this would be, that she had just been kidnapped and would be found physically unharmed and alive or that she would be able to escape to safety, and praying she wasn't being traffic. i was literally praying for her to not be kidnapped, like that sounds so crazy. but that just at the time seemed better than the alternative. i've never prayed for anyone to be kidnapped. i get the calls on my phone and in fact i pray for those people to be found and unharmed.

can you imagine your pleading prayers with the world being for someone you adore and love to just be kidnapped? that option gave me hope in that moment, that she would be brought back to her family al alive. i was desperate for my friends. this nightmare spiraled out of control when i received another call from my husband while he was on the road or while i was on the road to athens. john had called my husband and he said to my husband, she's with jesus, brother. that will never leave my memory. as my oldest daughter and i sat in traffic on our way to athens,

time seemed to have stop in that moment, yet as we were here 272 days later, time has continued. it has continued in ebbs and flows and every emotion you can experience. time has stood still and utter disbelief that this precious human is gone. while day-to-day life continues on. this was an act of pure evil at the hands of jose antonio ibarra. he willfully chose to pray on innocent young women on the morning of february 22nd. it was laken hope riley being the young woman he would succeed in torturing in the most excruciating and brutal way while she fought not only for her life, but for her dignity. he must have believed that she was there for his taking, that he was entitled to whatever sick, perverted urges and desires he had that morning. not one person on this planet has even one right to take what they want from a person simply

because they want it. yet jose did that. because of his evil actions, we are all being forced to learn how to navigate life with the stark, harsh reality of laken no longer being here. her amazing friends have been robbed of the beautiful gift of lifelong friendships and doing life together with their future husbands and children, the way my family and the phillips family have been blessed to do all of these years. her grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins feel the absence of her presence constantly and have been robbed of the continued blessing of her being a bright light in their family. my family and i have journeyed alongside our difference as they attempt to navigate a new normal without their oldest daughter. i have gotten to know my best friend's face in a new way. the way i would give back if i

could make returns on the most devastating circumstances life can hold. i look at her and dino when a situation is too much. i know when a comment is too much. i know when to be silent and when she needs encouragement. this year is showing on all of our faces like the harshness of cold winter days. that there seems to be no end in sight. but we will keep fighting because we refuse to allow jose antonio ibarra to take anything else from us. and we serve a good and mighty god. we've already had, been forced to journey through our annual family vacation without her. family get-togethers. fun events. and the absence of her presence

is so deafening. i mean, sure, we still laugh, we are still living, we are still here, so we have to keep living and we are going to honor her with everything that we have. and we're just going to keep trusting in the lord. to help our dear friends and sweet lauren with all of the things that they are now not going to experience with their daughter. no parent should have to say goodbye to their daughter in this manner. the loss of a child is devastating no matter what the circumstances are, but when something like this, we are evil intentionally goes out to harm somebody, there is no words for it. and so today i stand before you with her friends and family and we ask you, your honor, to bring

earthly justice for our precious laken and for all of us who love her so very much. she was truly one of the most precious people that i have ever had the honor of knowing. she exhibited the fruit of the spirit in the bible. because she truly lived her life for jesus, as you got to hear john read in her journal entry. that was her. that was a private entry. not for anyone else. and you got to see the type of person that she truly is in her heart. pure and lovely and her laugh that everyone has talked about, literally one of all of our favorite things about her. and we never get to hear it again because of him. so we ask your honor for you to consider in your sentencing for

him to not be able to ever be out of prison and for him to spend all of his days there without any possibility of getting out. thank you. >> tell me your name again. >> it is carrie howell. >> carrie? >> yes, sir. >> and, your honor, that at this time completes the statements for victim impact evidence from laken's family and friends. the state would also have a few more items to present for victim impact, and then i will address the court. and one of the things i wanted to share with the court is that a lot of times when we hear victim impact evidence, it is very much so the way that we

hear it here in court. hold on, i'm going to posit this. but what we have in this case is something that i ran across in my review of the evidence in this case, which is really, one minute of where this court will be able to get the true impact, the true impact of what the murder of laken riley did to her family. and the impact of his actions on her family. because what the investigators did in this case is, as you know, they are all wearing body cam videos, and there is hundreds of hours in it here, and there is one moment where -- and i'm just going to play one minute of it, just one minute of the horror that this family has

gone through in the last nine months, and what they are going to continue to go through for the rest of their lives, and it is the moment that they learned that their daughter was dead. and in this video clip that i'm showing, which i have marked as state's 33, at the top right corner, it is at 19:50 peered you will see a black truck. [inaudible] >> step over here. [inaudible] [sobbing]

>> i don't want to tell you yes or no because i don't have na names. [sobbing] >> that's what they endured. and that's how it was on that day. when they came here to look for their daughter. and what it took away, you heard from her friends and family, and some of the things that you even heard in the trial, got a little peek, just a little peek about the personality of laken riley. for example, in lily's 911 call, one of the things she says is

laken never misses class. never misses class. that's the kind of person she was. and in our review of all of the evidence in this case, some of the things we had to look at were the social media presence of everyone, and there was a lot of digital evidence in this case, and the review of a digital evidence i want to share with you just some of it, which has been marked states exhibit 336. is that laken was a very joyful and quite silly, playful person. and a lot of that is imbued in social media. [inaudible] [laughter] and the ring doorbell. [cheering]

running. same race. >> let's go! [cheering] and these are just little snippets that we saw in the investigation that we thought would be important to share with the court, that shows not only the type of person that she was, that you just heard from her friends and family, but the true impact that her murder had on her parents. but more than that, one of the things that the court is permitted to consider in victim impact testimony is the impact that her death has on this community. and in that regard the investigative team spent a great deal of time out there at the crime scene, like herrick. all of those trails. looking for things, measuring things, just going about the daily jobs of homicide

investigators and homicide prosecutors, and one of the things that we noticed that is still there is states 335. it's a mural. memorial to laken riley. that is still up there to this day. that shows the impact of her death on this community. and that is something that your honor is permitted to consider in deciding what would be an appropriate sentence in this case. and everyone is correct, and i'm sure we will hear it, whatever you do, judge, you can't bring her back and it's horrible. but what you can do is give comfort with your sentence. and what you can do and what you are permitted to do and what i and what i urge this court to do and what the law permits this court to do is to exercise your

discretion and your judgment in a way that brings comfort to this community and in a way that a sentence which appropriately reflects the harm that was done in this case. and a sentence of life without the possibility of parole would bring comfort to this community. and no matter what your sentences today, and it will be litigated from here to 40 years from now, there is at least one person in this courtroom who will inherit it, and that is lauren phillips. that is laken's younger sister. and she should never, first of all, she's growing up without her sister. she's going to have to raise her elderly parents alone, her children won't have an aunt. she is an only child. and she should not have to worry 30 years from now, 40 years from

now, if he comes up for parole, should he might get out. she should never have to worry about that. and your sentence can ensure that she will not have to worry about that. and so in looking at the indictment in this case, count one, the offense of malice murder, which this defendant has been found guilty of, in this particular case, carries a man some them sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. it carries a minimum sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. the state is requesting that you sentence this defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. not only due to the victim impact testimony, but also because if you read the indictment, which you have come obviously, and you are familiar with the facts of the case because you have heard the case, there are several statutory activators in this case that

separates this case from a regular murder case, and yes, there is malice murder and all malice murder is mad, i am not saying there is a malice murder that isn't bad , but there are some malice murders which are more aggravated than others, and this is one of them. kidnapping bodily injury, which is the felony murder in count two, which by the way would be vacated as a matter of law, but not the kidnapping itself, which is count five, but kidnapping without bodily injury as an aggravated statutory factor on processing scheme in the case state of georgia. it makes malice murder worse than regular murder and for that reason alone we should sentence this defendant to life in prison without the possibility of parole. aggravated battery which is also in this indictment and the fact that the thing has been convicted of is also a statutory aggravate her in our statutory scheme which makes this murder different and worse than a regular malice murder. so there are aggravating

circumstances, which you have already heard, which i will not repeat to you, but that are not only recognized by the facts, but are recognized by our statutory sentencing scheme. so going down the rest of the indictment, felony murder count two is vacated as a matter of law, felony murder count three would be vacated as a matter of law, felony murder count four would be vacated as a matter of law. on count five, kidnapping with bodily injury, the state is asking you to sentence this defendant to a sentence of life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, which is the maximum for that count. we are going to ask you run that consecutive to count one, a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the malice murder. count to six is aggravated assault with intent to rape. it does not merge, in fact it is a separate crime under the circumstances. the penalty for that is 1-20 years in prison. the state would be asking you to sentence this defendant to 20 years to serve in prison.

count seven of the indictment, the aggravated battery would emerge as a matter of law into count one, so we would not request a sentence on that co count. count eight, obstruction or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call, is a misdemeanor. the maximum penalty for that is 12 months to serve in the county jail. we ask you to sentence him to that and run it consecutive to any other sentence you impose in this case. count nine, tampering with evidence, the way that it is actually alleged in the indictment and factually is a misdemeanor. so the maximum for that is 12 months to serve in the county jail, we ask that you sentence him to that and run it consecutive to any other sentence you impose in this case. and finally, count ten of the indictment, peeping tom, is a felony which carries a penalty between 1-5 years in prison, we ask that you sentence him to five years to serve in prison to run consecutive to count one. so to sum it up, the sentence would be on count one, life imprisonment without the

possibility of parole, count five, life imprisonment with the possibility of parole to run consecutive to count one, count six, 20 years to serve to run consecutive, count seven, will merge. count eight, him 12 months to serve to run consecutive. count 912 months didn't serve to run consecutive. count ten, two years to run consecutive. and that is the sentence that the state is requesting. >> mr. diamond. >> yes, sir. thank you. so obviously the court is aware that on counts -- count one,

there is really two options for the court. it is an automatic life sen sentence. the only option is whether the court can indicate it should be without the possibility of future parole. we are asking the court to not impose that. the life without parole. getting a life sentence is automatic. it is certainly no guarantee of parole. and would be... uncertain, and it would be many decades in the future, and we do not oppose the state's recommendation, life sentence, which is also mandatory on count five, be made consecutive. we -- certainly, to state the obvious, trust that the court will not consider for sentencing purpose the fact -- the defense

has made every attempt, made every effort to do this job and to pursue this process in a way to respect both the process itself and also to not cause any disrespect toward the feelings of ms. riley's loved ones. if anything like that has happened, it certainly was not intended. and the defense is not immune to the sensitivity of this case. again, to not only her loved ones, but to the greater community. the states request is not unexpected to us. we anticipated that, it is certainly understandable. and there is a divide in the state, while it is

understandable, the request that they make, the court, there is some separation given here in this process and the court will be the one to impose it. so our request that you give consecutive life sentences on counts one and count five, we have no position on counts -- we will send a message to whatever future custodian of mr. ibarra as to the gravity of this crime and the gravity of the situation. that the court has expressed an intention for, you know, it's obviously a legal fiction that he would serve two life sentences behind bars, but if the law allows that and it does, it sends a message to the future custodians. as to the gravity.

but the withholding of the life without parole aspect of count one would at least give mr. ibarra the sliver of incentive to reflect and conduct himself with some recognition of that reflection. the state agency and the state, the staff of that agency, who will be tasked with supervising his custody will have the opportunity to monitor him closely for, again, many years, many decades into the future, and it's impossible to know the future, obviously. but by imposing life sentences without removing the future custodians the ability to do their job is our request at this

time. we also would point out that given his status. there is an immigration hold, that were he ever, in the future, to be released, only to be deported. and that's all i have. with the discretion of the court, thank you.

>> john: all right, we just got a procedural going on as the judge is talking to the clerk of the court after the victim impact statements and the prosecutor asking for the maximum sentence. let's get back to what the judge is saying here. >> one is... often times people use the term closure of an event like this, and i acknowledge that there is no such thing as closure. they're will not be closure. this is just another stage or event in this tragedy. that's the way i view that. people mean well by making that, saying that, but i've heard it explained that when you have something like this, that impacts one or many you either

have to make a conscious effort to breathe, sometimes, and that just comes on you, you just don't know what's going to bring it on you. and you realize that you do make it through the day but you don't know how you did it. but i also, and this goes back to what carrie howell was sa saying, you know, as many times as you reflect on the loss, at some point, you start smiling about the memories. i'm hopeful that at some point that takes over, to a certain extent. but there is very little, and

including the sentence of mr. ibarra, that's going to help much. and i acknowledge that. with that, mr. ibarra, if you would please stand. count one, malice murder, i sentence you to life without the possibility of parole. count two, will be vacated as a matter of operation of law. count three, vacated by operation of law. count four, vacated by operation of law. count five, life in prison, consecutive to count one. count six, 20 years to serve

consecutive to count five. count seven, will merge with count one. count eight, 12 months, consecutive to count six. strike that. 12 months, i don't want it to six, just consecutive. count nine, 12 months, consecutive. count ten, five years, consecutive. to count six. so that would mean the

misdemeanors would come after the felonies. that will be the sentence. mr. ibarra, i will advise you that you have 30 days from today to seek any post-judgment and relief in the form of a motion for a new trial or appealing this case directly. if you make a motion for a new trial and that is denied, you have 30 days from that date to file your first appeal, first level of appeal. the court will appoint a lawyer to represent you. if you cannot afford one. i'll also advise you that you

have four years from the date that your conviction becomes final in order to file a habeas corpus petition. mr. donnelly, can you tell me, are you all going to be involved in the next stage? >> that remains to be seen, but my understanding is we will remain on at the courts appointment until and unless relieved. >> all right, make those arrangements. >> communicate that with mr. ibarra. >> all right. anything else, miss ross? >> no, your honor. >> okay. it's going to take a little -- yep, can retake... >> john: all right, so jose ibarra found guilty of the murder of laken riley, and he will spend his life in prison, and if he manages to survive

that life sentence, he will get a consecutive life sentence, plus sundry other sentences on top of all of that, as the judge ordered all of their sentences to run consecutively, not concurrently, so unless he gets some sort of reversal on appeal, sandra, jose ibarra will never see the light of day in freedom ever again in these united states peered. >> sandra: jose ibarra, the illegal immigrant who has now been found guilty on all charges against him in the brutal and heinous murder of that young georgia nursing student, laken riley. and as we watched on in court, john, notable to see no emotion on the killers face as those victim statements were read, one after the other. fighting through their tears to share their grief and sorrow and say their final goodbyes, talking about a life that should never have been gone so young, john, and some color from the courtroom, just absolutely heart-wrenching, the mother there in the courtroom, we are

told, just was inconsolable, leaning doubt in her lap as she heard her daughter's sorority sisters, best friends, room roommates, she is sobbing all through those victim statements as they shared their memories of laken riley, john. >> john: i mean, as you can imagine, the mother's grief, her daughter going to nursing school, hoping to become one of america's proud first responders. she goes for a jog. her mother tries to find her because she has not checked in, a series of increasingly frantic texts, which eventually leads to a police search, and then we know the rest of the story from there. let's bring in paul mauro, attorney, retired nypd inspector and fox news contributor. no surprise at the sentencing, two consecutive life terms plus sundry other sentences, as well, paul. final chapter, unless he gets some sort of reversal on appeal for jose ibarra, but as the judge said, this is something

that the family will be living with for the rest of their lives. there is no such thing, he said, as closure in a case like this. >> no, there really isn't. to stay in the realm of the sentencing here, i have to go back to something i've been talking about on the air, which is if the woke sorrows prosecutor who initially caught this case down there had gone for the death penalty, considering a mountain of evidence that jose ibarra was facing, there's a chance that he would have pled to the sentence that he just got, which would have spared his family -- her family the ordeal of having to go through this trial to end up in the same place. but that prosecutor, who never brought a felony case to conclusion, refused to consider the death penalty, and ultimately didn't even try the case, so, you know, the fact it is a sanctuary city -- they deny it, but it is -- the fact that the woke d.a. took that action, just compounds, i walked that trail that laken was on in

covering this case over the last couple of days, and what happened to her can't really be described in words. such a horrific, horrific instance here where she is out in this bucolic area, should be a safe space, there are emergency stanchions along the way that if you are in trouble you can actually call for help. he must have positioned himself so she couldn't get to one of those. it really speaks to the idea that he was lying in wait. the woods are very dense, yet he managed to drag her 65 feet. this guy is the lowest of the low, and i would just close by saying there are more of them. and let me be politically incorrect here. they target women. and for america's women, you know, t men, of course, as well, there are other jose ibarras out there that we have imported into this country. we are paying to stay here. we are flying around at their whim. we are in fact under the ch in the program flying into this country, and if i sound angry, i

am. >> sandra: the country is angry. paul. we hear you. that is a dire warning. there are more of them, you said, and they target women. the country has been seeing this play out, and we know the evidence was damning from the very beginning, his dna found on key pieces of evidence, security camera footage, cell phone data, written on the walls, paul, thank you very much for joining us. >> thank you. >> sandra: john, just absolutely brutal, and to quote her mother, laken riley's mother, allison phillips, there is no end to the pain, suffering, and loss. we will be right back. rategy, a, where your retirement money and investment portfolio could go up with the stock market lock in your gains? and when the market goes down, you don't lose anything. forward with your money. never backwards would have that investment strategy, that product actually existed? good news! it does! if you have at least $100,000 to invest, get your investor's

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>> sandra: a statewide ballot recon underway in the pennsylvania senate race between bob casey and dave mccormick. county officials say they will comply with a state supreme court order to not count in eligible ballots. nate foy is in our newsroom and has an update. where are things right now? >> hey, sandra. bucks county commissioner just apologize during a contentious community meeting. the county commissioner in question diane ellis marcy glia says she let her emotions get the best of her when she promised to violate by counting illegal ballots. >> we all say things that are

out of can -- i made a mistake. and because i'm an elected official, i am held to a far higher standard than everybody else. >> so sandra, after that, dozens of residents ripped apart the bucks county commissioner, accusing them of cheating in the election and called on several of them to resign. >> how can the american people believe in the integrity of this election when the commissioners promised to disregard and break the law? the answer is they cannot. >> so here's where we stand right now, senator-elect dave mccormick is up more than 16,000 votes on senator bob casey. rnc chair michael whatley says the average recount generally flips about i've hundred votes, so republicans are calling this a waste of over a million taxpayer dollars. philadelphia commissioners just wrapped up a news conference talking about their process for counting ballots. commissioners said they disagreed with the state supreme court ruling to not count ballots with incorrect or missing dates, but they promised to follow state law, anyway. there are more than a dozen open

legal challenges over ballots in pennsylvania right now. altogether it amounts to no more than 5,321 ballots. even if every single one of those went for senator casey, he would still be 11,000 votes short. the results of the recount is expected one week from today. sandra? >> sandra: nate foy with that update for us, thank you. john? >> john: sander, the border crisis reaching all corners of this country and president-elect trump is bowing to take action on day one of his new administration. retired i.c.e. hsi special agent victor avila joins us on the threat from the migrant game tren de aragua. tren de aragua. and larry kudlow will lay in on trump's plan to stop it coming up next. same. discover the power of wegovy®. with wegovy®, i lost 35 pounds. and some lost over 46 pounds. and i'm keeping the weight off. i'm reducing my risk. wegovy® is the only weight-management medicine

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