In the nine months since Laken Riley was killed while jogging at the University of Georgia, her death turned into a lightning rod over crime and illegal immigration and cast an ominous shadow over the college town of Athens.

The bench trial for the man accused of killing a nursing student on UGA's campus resumes Monday. Jose Ibarra faces multiple charges including malice murder in connection to the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley.

The case was swept up in the debate over immigration after investigators said the perpetrator was a migrant from Venezuela who entered the U.S. illegally.