The trial of the illegal immigrant accused of killing Georgia nursing student Laken Riley began Friday and his fate will be decided by a judge — not a jury.

Jose Ibarra — a Venezuelan who entered the U.S. illegally through the southern border — is standing accused of killing Riley22, on February 22, while out for a morning run in Athens, Georgia.

Prosecutors say Ibarra, 26, attacked the Augusta University nursing student by hitting her in the head and choking her with the plan to sexually assault her.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges of malicious murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and related offenses and faces life in prison without parole if convicted. He also faces a charge of looking at a University of Georgia employee on the same day as the murder.

Prosecutors chose not to press for the death penalty in Ibarra’s case.

On Tuesday — a day before jury selection was scheduled to begin — Ibarra waived his right to a trial by 12 of his peers, choosing instead to have the case decided by Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard.

The case began around 9 a.m. in an Athens-Clarke County courtroom in the killer’s town.

Ibarra’s defense team lost a bid earlier this month delay the trial and bar evidence, including DNA, fingerprints and mobile phone data, on the grounds that it were collected unfairly by investigators and that the defense needed more time to review the case.

The case against Ibarra, whose family has ties to the notorious Tren de Aragua gang, drew national attention because Ibarra was released by immigration authorities after entering the U.S. illegally through El Paso, Texas, due to a lack of space.

He was arrested in the Big Apple in August 2023 for illegally driving a petrol moped with a 5-year-old child on the back without a helmet or seat belt, but was released again.

Ibarra then fled to Georgia to join his brother Diego, one of his gang-connected family members, where he lives.

The brothers were arrested in Georgia for allegedly stealing from a Walmart in September 2023.

Riley’s body was found near her apartment after her friend alerted authorities that she failed to return home from her morning run. Police say Ibarra’s attack on Riley appeared to be a random crime of opportunity.

He was arrested a day later and has been held without bail since then.

Prosecutors plan to present at trial a range of evidence linking Ibarra to the murder, including fingerprints taken from Riley’s phone and DNA samples taken from her fingernails.