Murder of Jessica Ridgeway

Victim: Jessica Ridgeway
Born (2002-01-23)January 23, 2002
Colorado, U.S.
Died October 5, 2012(2012-10-05) (aged 10)
Westminster, Colorado, U.S.
Cause of death Suffocation caused by strangulation
Perpetrator: Austin Sigg
Born Austin Reed Sigg
(1995-01-17) January 17, 1995
Colorado, U.S.
Criminal charge 15; First degree murder (x1), second degree kidnapping (x2), sexual assault of a child, robbery, sexual assault, sexual exploitation of a child (x3), violent crime (x5), attempted second degree kidnapping [1]
Criminal penalty

Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 40 years[2]

82 years in prison (to be served after the life sentence), time at large 23 days
Criminal status Incarcerated, plead guilty on all charges

Jessica Ridgeway (January 23, 2002 – October 5, 2012) was an American girl who, at the age of 10, was kidnapped in Westminster, Colorado, and murdered by Austin Sigg (born January 17, 1995) on October 5, 2012.[3] Her dismembered body was found five days later.[4] Sigg was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder in November 2013.[5]

Events

Ridgeway was reported missing on the evening of October 5, 2012 after she failed to return home from school, and an AMBER Alert was issued. Two days later, her school backpack, containing her glasses, was found on a sidewalk. On October 10, her dismembered remains were found in a park in Arvada.[5][6]

Later that month, a 17-year-old boy named Austin Sigg confessed to killing Ridgeway. He told police that he kidnapped her as she walked towards where he had parked his Jeep, and then he bound her wrists and ankles with zip ties and took her to his house. There, he forced her to change out of her clothes and into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before he strangled her, dismembered her body, and hid her remains in a shed, before dumping them in the park in Arvada.[7]

Under a 2005 Supreme Court decision, Sigg was not eligible for capital punishment because he had not turned 18 yet. In the court case, he was tried as an adult.[8] Sigg was sentenced to life imprisonment on November 19, 2013.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Austin Sigg pleads guilty in senseless murder of Jessica Ridgeway". October 2, 2013.
  2. ↑ Blanco, Juan Ignacio. "Austin Sigg | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers". murderpedia.org. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ Steffen, Jordan (November 30, 2013). "Evidence details twisted path that led Austin Sigg to Jessica Ridgeway – The Denver Post". Denver Post. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  4. ↑ "It IS Jessica: Police reveal dismembered child's body found in Colorado park is 10-year-old girl who vanished on her way to school". Mail Online. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Teen convicted of killing 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway sentenced to life". NBC News. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  6. ↑ "It IS Jessica: Police reveal dismembered child's body found in Colorado park is 10-year-old girl who vanished on her way to school". Mail Online. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Jessica Ridgeway's Killer Tells Police What Led Up To The Crime". November 26, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Evidence details twisted path that led Austin Sigg to Jessica Ridgeway". Denver Post. November 30, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Austin Sigg sentenced to life in kidnap/murder of Jessica Ridgeway". The Denver Post. November 19, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
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