Laken Riley: How a gruesome attack changed this running trail

Athens, Georgia
CNN
 — 

The five pairs of sneakers resting in front of a popular wooded trail serve as a daily reminder of the run Laken Riley never finished.

In the nine months since Riley was bludgeoned and killed in the University of Georgia’s Oconee Forest Park, students and recreational athletes have returned to the nature trail. But the tragedy has altered their behavior.

“In the beginning … I’m a girl, so all my runner friends and … everybody texted each other. People shared locations,” UGA junior Victoria Kota said. “I became really vigilant.”

UGA graduate Calvin Pettyjohn said he might not be “a target demographic of that type of violence” Riley suffered. But he, too, takes extra precautions by making verbal contact with strangers on the trail – “you know, just say hi, things like that.”

“It kind of sends off a warning signal” to potential criminals that he’s watching them, too, Pettyjohn said.

Much has changed since Riley’s body was found in the woods near Lake Herrick on February 22. Her killer, Jose Ibarra, was convicted of murder, aggravated assault with intent to rape, and a spate of other crimes. He was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Back on campus, UGA has rolled out more safety measures, including new emergency call stations along the twisting network of trails in Oconee Forest Park.

And students like Will Brenneman, who reflected on Riley’s death shortly before jogging through the same woods where she was killed, now have a different outlook on life.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize that they can be just going on with their day, on a simple run even, and something like that could, unfortunately and unexpectedly, just happen,” the UGA junior said.

“As college students, we get caught up in our own world a lot and being very one track,” Brenneman said. “I think something like this allows us to be able to realize the world that we’re walking in sometimes is, you know, not always a secure one.”

Oconee Forest Park is a beloved retreat for nature lovers in the middle of a bustling college town. Much of the park’s trail system is unpaved, attracting mountain bikers and rugged runners.

And the trail winding around Lake Herrick had long been a source of serenity for visitors.

“It was a nice way to spend an afternoon after work, unwind a bit … just a form of relaxation for me,” Pettyjohn said during a walk through the woods.

But the popular trail was largely abandoned for weeks after Riley’s killing, he said.

“They had just about the entire trail section marked off for investigation purposes,” he said. Even after the trail reopened, “I didn’t come out here for about another week or week and a half … just to, you know, kind of give it some space.”

Other visitors had difficulty returning to the site of tranquility that turned into a scene of tragedy. Hardly anyone ventured out to the trail for about a month, Pettyjohn said.

“It felt empty. And I could tell that people were trying to give it some space for a little bit longer.”

UGA pharmacy student Margaret Fawcett said she walks with heightened awareness at night and offers to accompany her friend, an avid runner, when her friend jogs on the same wooded trail where Riley was attacked.

“Sometimes I do get nervous for her,” Fawcett said.

“You would hopefully think that a campus is a safe place to be. But after (Riley’s killing), it definitely makes me more alert.”

Since Riley’s death, UGA deployed a host of new safety measures – which have made students like Kota more comfortable running through the woods or walking back from the library at night.

She cited a significant increase in the number of officers seen around campus as well as more safety lights.

“I do really appreciate what they have done, because they have helped ease some of this anxiety,” Kota said. “We feel comfortable again, walking to my car at night – when, for a while, I didn’t.”

She said students who feel uncomfortable walking by themselves at night can ask for a safety officer to escort them.

“If you feel unsafe, and it’s 7 p.m. and past, they’ll take you wherever you need to go,” Kota said. “They’ll walk with you, which I also really appreciate.”

But as Kota and Brenneman prepared to jog through the woods, they were greeted by a memorial reminding them of Riley’s death.

The memorial for Riley was set up about nine months ago, visitors said. Unknown volunteers keep it in pristine condition, placing flowers that are always in bloom, Brenneman said.

“I’m pretty sure close friends and other people, they keep replenishing the flowers for it.”