A Venezuelan man has been convicted of murdering Georgian nursing student Laken Riley, a case that has fueled the national debate over immigration during this year’s presidential race.

Jose Ibarra was charged with murder and other crimes in connection with Riley’s death in February, and the sentencing verdict was handed down Wednesday by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard. Ibarra, 26, had waived his right to a jury trial, meaning Haggard heard and decided the case alone.

Haggard found Ibarra guilty of all ten charges against him: one count of malice murder; three murder charges; and one count each of kidnapping occasioning actual bodily harm, aggravated assault with intent to rape, aggravated battery, obstructing an emergency call, tampering with evidence and being a peeping tom.

After reading the verdict, the judge said he was ready to proceed with sentencing immediately, but prosecutors asked for a break. The judge said he would continue after an hour’s recess.

Prosecutors have not sought the death penalty. Ibarra faces life in prison.

Riley’s parents, roommates and other friends and family cried as the verdict was read. Ibarra did not visibly react.

The judge said that as he listened to the closing arguments, he wrote down in a notebook two things the attorneys had said. He noted that prosecutor Sheila Ross called the evidence “overwhelming and powerful” and that defense attorney Kaitlyn Beck reminded him to “put my emotions aside” in making his ruling.

The killing added fuel to the national debate over immigration as federal authorities said Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 and was allowed to remain in the country while pursuing his immigration case.

The trial began Friday and prosecutors called more than a dozen law enforcement officers, Riley’s roommates and a woman who lived in the same apartment as Ibarra. Defense attorneys called a police officer, a jogger and one of Ibarra’s neighbors on Tuesday and rested their case on Wednesday morning.

Prosecutor Sheila Ross told the judge that Ibarra encountered Riley while she was running on the University of Georgia campus on Feb. 22 and killed her during a struggle. Riley, 22, attended Augusta University College of Nursing, which also has a campus in Athens, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) east of Atlanta.

Defense attorney Dustin Kirby said in his opening statement that Riley’s death was a tragedy and called the evidence in the case compelling and disturbing. But he said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove his client killed Riley.

Riley’s parents, roommates and other friends and family were in the courtroom throughout the trial.