Laken Riley GoFundMe raises over $30,000 as nursing student found dead in UGA campus

A GoFundMe campaign organized by a community member on behalf of Laken Riley’s family has raised over $29,000 in the wake of her brutal murder. Riley, a 20-year-old nursing student at the Augusta University Athens campus, was found dead on UGA intramural fields on Thursday, February 22, 2024, under violent circumstances.

Riley was out for a jog before police found her unconscious and injured in a wooded area behind the fields around 12:30 p.m. Thursday after responding to a missing report from a concerned friend. On Friday, authorities revealed her cause of death was blunt force trauma and announced the arrest of 26-year-old Jose Antonio Ibarra in connection to the murder.

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Community rallies around Laken Riley's family showing support in her GoFundMe page

In the wake of her death, community member Kanaan Rogers organized a fundraiser on behalf of Laken Riley’s father, John Phillips. The fundraiser asking for $35,000 said the victim was an active member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority at UGA.

The fundraiser described the victim as a fiercely bright and kind individual whose infectious laughter permeated every room she entered. Laken, who is survived by her sister Lauren and parents Amy and John Phillips, previously made the Augusta University Dean’s list in the Fall of 2023.

According to the page, the donations raised through the campaign will go toward her funeral expenses, establishing a scholarship in the victim’s name, and raising homicide awareness. The page said:

“This GoFundMe is being established to assist the family with funeral expenses, establish a scholarship in her name, raise homicide awareness, or any other opportunity the family could use during this difficult time. Thank you so much for your support, please continue to keep Laken’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers.”

Within five hours, over a thousand people flooded the page with donations and helped raise $30,000 at the time of writing this article. People also flooded the comment section with outpouring of love and support commiserating with family’s tragic loss. Donor Darby Taylor wrote:

“I am so sorry, thoughts and prayers to you and your family.”

In a Facebook post, Lake Riley's mother, Allyson Phillips, revealed a day before the incident, she and some family members were on a ski vacation in Colorado, noting she missed her daughter as they celebrated a birthday. At the time, the post read:

"We had a great time with great friends celebrating Brinda's birthday in Crested Butte, CO! Massages, skiing, great food and beautiful views!" read the post. "The only thing missing was Laken Riley."

Riley, who was an undergraduate student at the University of Georgia until spring 2023, reportedly transferred to Augusta University after she enrolled in their nursing program.