A Venezuelan man “went hunting for females on the University of Georgia’s campus” earlier this year and ended up killing nursing student Laken Riley after a struggle, a prosecutor said Friday. A

A man on trial for the murder of Laken Riley was out “hunting for females” on the University of Georgia campus when he came across the 22-year-old on her morning jog and killed her, a court heard on Friday.

The Laken Riley murder trial got underway on Friday in Athens, Georgia -- where Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan man who entered the country illegally, stands accused of killing 22-year-old University of Georgia college student Laken Riley.

Prosecutors claim Jose Ibarra, 26, attacked the Augusta University nursing student, hitting her head and asphyxiating her with the plan to sexually assault her.

Prosecutors said the suspect, Jose Ibarra, who is linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, was out “hunting for females” on Feb. 22 when he targeted Riley, 22, while she was jogging.

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.