ATHENS, Ga. — Lawyers for Jose Ibarra, the man convicted of murder in the killing of college nursing student Laken Riley, told a judge Friday they intend to file motions seeking a mental competency evaluation and funding for a DNA expert to review forensic evidence.

The brief virtual hearing with an Athens-Clarke County judge was a status conference on Ibarra’s motion for a new trial. Ibarra, who was sentenced to life without parole in November after a bench trial, did not appear in court or on the teleconference.

The defense’s new motions — one to assess Ibarra’s mental competency, the other to pay for an independent DNA analysis — are expected to be filed this month. Ibarra’s defense team filed the motion for a new trial in December.

Attorney David Douds described Ibarra, 27, as “a slow learner” and Spanish speaker with a potential language barrier.

“It goes to the knowing of his waiver of the jury trial ... We’re alleging at the time of the incident and time of trial, he did not have an understanding,” Douds said.

A hearing on the motion for a new trial is tentatively set for September. Superior Court Judge H. Patrick Haggard said he needed to see the defense’s motions discussed Friday before scheduling hearings.

A preliminary schedule for posttrial proceedings was set during a previous hearing in March.

Ibarra was found guilty of malice murder and related charges stemming from the attack that left Riley dead near a wooded trail on the University of Georgia campus. The case drew national scrutiny after it was revealed Ibarra had entered the United States unlawfully and was previously detained by federal immigration authorities.

While Friday’s hearing was procedural in nature, Riley’s death has sparked significant policy changes at both the federal and state levels.

In January, the Laken Riley Act was signed into law, which gives federal immigration agencies broad authority to detain migrants accused of a variety of crimes. The law was introduced as part of a broader immigration bill and named in Riley’s honor.

Georgia lawmakers last year passed House Bill 1105, which requires local law enforcement agencies to work more closely with federal immigration authorities.

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