A spokesman for University of Georgia police said that on Friday, a person of interest was being questioned. The previous day, a 22-year-old woman was discovered deceased in a forested area of the campus.
According to an NBC News spokeswoman for the school on Friday, the woman’s name is Laken Hope Riley.
University police said in a statement that the inquiry got underway on Thursday when someone called them at 12:07 p.m. to report that a buddy had not returned after a jog at the school’s Intramural Fields.
At 12:38 p.m., authorities discovered the woman’s body “in the forested area behind Lake Herrick.”
At a press conference on Thursday, University of Georgia Police Chief Jeffrey Clark stated, “The individual was unconscious, not breathing, and had visible injuries.”
The university and the Athens-Clarke County Police Department were handling it as a homicide inquiry, according to a statement released on Friday.
The school’s police department was interviewing a person of interest, according to Greg Trevor, a spokesman for the institution, during a press conference on Friday.
“We want to stress that this continues to be an active, ongoing investigation, and we will provide further updates when circumstances warrant,” Trevor stated.
The woman’s identity was revealed to NBC News earlier on Friday by a representative for the school, Laken Hope Riley, 22.
Riley was a junior in the Augusta University College of Nursing and a Dean’s List student, according to a statement released by the university’s president on Friday, Brooks A. Keel.
The nursing program of Augusta University is situated in Athens, the same
“In a statement released on Thursday, Keel stated, “Police have stated that they suspect foul play. “The receipt of this news this afternoon was shocking to all of us.”
According to authorities, no one has been charged or named as a suspect in relation to the death.
According to Chief of Police Clark, “there’s always a danger when you have a suspect that’s on the loose.” “But there’s no immediate danger at this time.”
According to Clark, there hasn’t been a killing on the grounds of the school in the last 20 years.
The university’s police department and administration encouraged anyone with information to call the authorities at 706-542-
Riley’s body was found the day after another student unexpectedly passed away in the university’s Brumby Hall residence, UGA