Athens, Georgia
CNN
—

For Laken Riley’s mother, the fear of losing a child in a horrific attack is compounded by the horror of hearing details about the last minutes of her daughter’s life.

But a relentless quest for justice has taken Allyson Phillips every day from the murder trial of suspect Jose Ibarra to the front row of the cold, barren benches of a Georgia courtroom.

The prosecution rested on Tuesday and the defense will resume calling witnesses on Wednesday. The case could go to court for a decision later today.

Phillips, her husband John and Riley’s father, Jason Riley, endured hours of painful testimony and evidence.

The suspect, an undocumented migrant from Venezuela, showed little emotion during the trial. A few feet away, Riley’s mother openly cried numerous times — including when an officer testified about missed calls between Riley and her mother the morning Riley died.

Here are some of the most intense revelations from the trial so far:

Riley, a former cross-country skier, was last seen alive while jogging near the University of Georgia’s Oconee Forest Park on the morning of Feb. 22.

She studied at UGA until the spring of 2023, before transferring to the College of Nursing at Augusta University in the same city of Athens.

UGA surveillance video shows Riley jogging with her phone in her left hand — a device believed to play a key role in the trial.

Phillips cried as she watched images of her daughter on the day she died.

Hours after Riley left for a run, surveillance footage shows two of her roommates and their dog looking for their missing friend near a trail. They leave about 20 minutes later, and Riley is nowhere to be found.

Forensic evidence shows Riley “fought for her life” and “fought for her dignity” before she died, prosecutors said.

Genetic testing of fingernail clippings from Riley revealed a link to Ibarra’s genetic profile, Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab scientist Ashley Hinkle testified Tuesday.

For someone to get someone else’s DNA under their fingernails, it typically “needs to be scratched or come into contact with the inside of the nail in some way,” Hinkle said.

In separate testimony Monday, UGA police Sgt. Joshua Epps said he encountered Ibarra the day after Riley’s murder and saw what “appeared to be fingernail scratches.”

“While I was talking to him, I noticed there was a scratch on his right arm and bicep,” Epps said. “On his left arm he had a scratch on the forearm that looked very similar – which I think looked like fingernail scratches.”

“I also noticed that on his left wrist, just below the palm, he had a puncture – maybe half an inch wide – which, from my experiences playing sports in high school, and sustaining the same injury from fingernails in football, I could see: like wet meat, as if it were almost fresh,” Epps said. “It wasn’t that old yet.”

As Epps described the injuries he saw on Ibarra’s arms, Riley’s mother cried and wiped away tears.

Missed text messages and panicked calls

Perhaps the most poignant testimony came Tuesday when UGA police Sgt. Sophie Raboud relayed Riley’s last communication on her cell phone.

Minutes before her death, Riley called her mother and texted to see if she wanted to catch up. The missed call would be the last time Riley contacted a loved one.

Phillips cried in the courtroom as she listened to the police sergeant, who also sounded emotional as he described the following timeline:

8:55 am: Riley sent her last text to her mother: “Good morning,” she wrote. “I’m about to go for a run if you’re free to talk.”

9:03 am: Riley called her mother, but she didn’t answer.

9:11 am: Riley called 911.

9:12 am: The 911 operator called Riley back twice within one minute.

9:24 am: Riley’s mother called her daughter back, but Riley did not answer.

9:37 am: Riley’s mother texted her daughter, “Call me if you can.”

9:51 am: Riley’s mother called her daughter again.

9:53 am: Riley’s mother called her daughter again.

9:58 am: Riley’s mother texted her daughter, “You make me nervous when I don’t answer while you’re running.” Are you okay?’

11:04 am: Riley’s mother called her daughter again.

11:12 am: Riley’s mother called her daughter again.

11:15 am: Riley’s mother called her daughter again.

11:19 am: Riley’s sister tried to call.

11:47 am: Riley’s mother texted her daughter, “Please call me, I’m worried about you.”

12:07 pm: Riley’s mother called her daughter again.

12:20 pm: Riley’s stepfather tried to call.

At 12:38 p.m., police found Riley’s body in a wooded area near Lake Herrick.

The medical examiner says Riley was asphyxiated and suffered blunt force trauma to the head

Riley’s father, mother and stepfather left the courtroom before a medical examiner testified about their daughter’s injuries and cause of death.

The 22-year-old died from the combined effects of head trauma and asphyxiation, said Dr. Michelle DiMarco, medical examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Asphyxiation is related to a lack of oxygen and can be caused by hanging, manual strangulation or physical compression. DiMarco said she was unable to determine what type of asphyxiation Riley suffered.

Riley also had injuries to her face and a fractured skull — injuries that “could have been consistent with a rock,” DiMarco said.

CNN’s Maxime Tamsett, Dawn Sawyer, Rebekah Riess, Eric Levenson and Sara Smart contributed to this report.