Suspect in custody after woman found dead on University of Georgia campus

ATHENS, Ga. — A suspect is in custody after a college student was found dead Thursday on the campus of the University of Georgia, officials said.

University police did not offer additional details Friday afternoon but said there were no indications of a continuing threat after the death of 22-year-old Laken Hope Riley.

Officials said that Riley, who was not a student at the University of Georgia but did attend college at another institution in Athens, had gone for a jog and was later found dead with “visible injuries” in a forested area behind Lake Herrick on Thursday. Police said foul play was suspected, and on Friday, the case was called a homicide investigation.

There was heavy police presence Friday at an apartment about a mile from Lake Herrick.

Riley was a student at the Augusta University College of Nursing's Athens campus, the school confirmed Friday.

"We have learned this morning that authorities in Athens have confirmed the identity of our College of Nursing student who passed away Thursday," the university said in a statement. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Laken Riley, a junior and Dean’s List student who studied at our campus in Athens."

“This sudden loss of one of our students is truly heartbreaking,” the statement said, noting counseling support services are available for students, faculty and staff.

Augusta University President Brooks A. Keel on Thursday called the news of the death "shocking to all of us."

The University of Georgia said Friday that Riley was a student had been a student through the 2023 spring semester before transferring to Augusta University.

The investigation

Police were on the scene at the Oconee Forest Park area of the Intramural Fields on campus Friday