The Jessica Heeringa Kidnapping - Updates

UPDATED May 8th: Amid grandstanding and blame-gaming in the Jessica Heeringa kidnapping investigation, the window of opportunity for Michigan authorities to find the 25-year-old mother of one alive is swiftly and sadly closing. 

Statistically speaking, those odds grow bleaker once 72 hours have passed.

Nearly two weeks has in fact lapsed since she vanished from her job at an ExxonMobil mart, and still there's no clue as to the petite young woman's whereabouts, nor the identity of the person or persons who allegedly abducted her just as she was closing the gas station for the night.

This, despite the fact that police where *on the case* within minutes of her kidnapping...

 

In the meantime, the many hundreds of tips they say they've been fielding and following are also proving useless, as all the prime suspects -- many already registered sex offenders -- are interviewed and then ultimately released, having established airtight alibis for the night of April 26th when Heeringa vanished without a trace.

Choppers also scanned the nearby wooded park this week accompanied by search-and-rescue teams on the ground. They were prompted to do so by belated reports of gunfire in the hours immediately after Heeringa's abduction. But police announced by day two of this effort that there was nothing whatsoever to be found there.

 

Apparently a pair of glasses had further set that frantic search into motion as well, although the glasses too proved to be a red herring.

The biggest problem is that the Exxon station Jessica Heeringa worked at had no surveillance system in place. A surprising security deficit, considering their popularity these days, and one which continues to hinder the investigation considerably. 

 

However, those residents in the neighbourhood not actively boycotting the owner of that franchise location, are claiming cameras have recently been installed throughout the premises.

This follows a wave of retaliatory gasoline thefts during the week, presumably done in protest of the owner's insistence on only hiring "pretty, young females," his refusal to assign a second person to assist with late shifts and store closings, and his deliberate decison not to install any kind of security devices that would have served to safeguard vulnerable workers like Heeringa.

The place wasn't robbed of anything, of course, but a prized and underpaid employee.

 

As to the investigation into her puzzling disappearance, a substance found in the parking lot of the mini-mart has been identified by DNA labs as Heeringa's blood. Teams of K-9s, however, have found no scent leading from the property, which further confirms she was whisked away by somebody. Purportedly a muscular, 6-foot tall, 30-ish man in a silver minivan captured minutes later by cameras at various businesses along the way.

Who that party actually is, despite a police sketch circulating all over the country AND the internet is becoming murkier and murkier day by day, as eyewitness testimony also becomes more and more suspect.

 

Whether their tales are true, false, or gravely embellished, who knows for certain. Some people will invent stories in such high profile cases as the Heeringa case though, driven by a need to insert themselves and seem important.

 

It's also not uncommon at all for the actual perpetrator to do the same, solely to throw a wrench in the operation and investigators off his trail...

 

BOOKMARK:  Validated updates will be added here and/or the comment section.

 

EPONYMOUS ROX 

Sigg's New Digs

 

Over numerous objections from his lawyers, Austin Reed Sigg was reportedly transferred on November 30, 2012 from Colorado's Mount View youth incarceration center to an adult jailhouse facility where he is currently being kept in isolation from the general population and can be guarded 24/7.

 

The rabid video-gamer and death-obsessed killer of ten-year-old schoolgirl Jessica Ridgeway turns 18 in January and, since he would technically then no longer be considered a minor, would have required different housing anyway.

 

An ever present danger to children, and fearing for his own safety too, officials at the youth center had kept Sigg separated from the other juvenile inmates prior to yesterday's transfer. Extreme conditions of his residency there which they'd pleaded in court papers was becoming a serious drain on their resources and couldn't be maintained for much longer.

It was their idea to be rid of him, assuring the Court that their little charge was "very mature" and therefore much better suited to life in an adult prison environment.

The transfer request should come as no real surpise--the teen has been charged as an adult and will face trial as an adult as well.
 

Another mugshot, another psychotic stare

Sigg's new addy is a small dungeon room in Colorado's Jefferson County Jail complex which contains minimum, medium, and maximum security prisoners of both sexes. 

However, searching through the current inmate list for official confirmation of this repeatedly produced the following error message: "We're sorry, but we couldn't find anyone in custody with the information you gave us."

It seems then that inmate Sigg is in some kind of limbo for awhile, at least until his 18th birthday arrives and hits him like a ton of bricks.

 

Whatever cell or wing he's presently being held (or hidden) in though, Jefferson County officials say that in approximately 50 days they plan to try and fully integrate him with his fellow prisoners.

That's preferable to solitary confinement, of course, but it's doubtful Sigg will fare too well let loose among them because violent pedophiles are walking targets in such closed quarters and extremely difficult to protect.
 

Sigg could hardly defend himself against such attacks by claiming his innocence either, since he's already publicly and privately confessed to the abduction, assault, murder and dismemberment of his child victim.

 

Additionally, DNA links him to the crime, as well as to the previous attempted kidnapping of a female jogger months in advance.

 

Jefferson County's jail was originally designed for only 1300 inmates, but the facility has seen a steady growth in its numbers over the past few years and has been reported to house as many as 1500 inmates at times.

 

Crowded jails are notorious for increasing the likelihood of assaults and other cellmate offenses, so perhaps justice for Jessica will move much swifter than anticipated.

 

Pretrial predictions

 

Sigg's recent housing shake up should serve as a reality check of sorts for all the parties involved in his criminal case. Accordingly, it wouldn't be odd for Sigg and his defense team to hurriedly hatch a scheme that, if accepted by prosecutors and approved by the judge, might see him safely sentenced for life in the psycho ward instead.

 

This could also mean the teen will try to increase his bargaining strength by confessing to other similar, but yet unknown, violent crimes he's commited before the Ridgeway girl's slaying in October.

 

Revelations of that nature wouldn't exactly shock expert profilers who'd strongly suspected all along, based upon the coldblooded methodology behind the heinous act, that it wasn't Sigg's first kill and that, if he hadn't been apprehended promptly, it surely wouldn't have been his last.

 

Defense lawyers arguing Sigg is not guilty of that murder because he's insane is probably being contemplated too, just as a back up plan if all else fails. But with the prosecution holding all the cards so far, and insanity itself traditionally difficult to prove, it's not the surest legal route to be pursuing in their client's interest. Now, or during his trial...

 

Look soon for a plea offer then, accompanied by a few brand new and startling confessions.

 



Austin Sigg to Appear in Court Today

Teen psycho-killer Austin Reed Sigg is expected in court again today. What's going to happen there once he shows up is anybody's guess, however, because gag orders are keeping both sides mum about the case.

 

Likely, though, Sigg's defense team will file a last minute motion for a transfer to the juvenile courts where he'll have maximum privacy and receive a much more lenient sentence if (and when) he's convicted of the brutal slaying and dismemberment of schoolgirl Jessica Ridgeway. They've not opted to do so in the month or so that's lapsed since his previous court appearance, but it's still not impossible.

It won't work, even so -- the crimes Sigg voluntarily confessed to and for which his DNA has already been traced are far too perverse and severe to be considered those of a demented child.

So maybe he'll slap down a plea bargain instead? Cough up a few more victims to sweeten the deal...?

______

[Afternoon update: Sigg's defense team did not motion for juvenile transfer in court today -- defendant will therefore be tried as an adult. You can read the complete case update and analysis I posted earlier on Crime Magazine HERE.]
 

PEOPLE VERSUS SIGG: a quick guide to understanding the 17 charges brought against teen killer Austin Reed Sigg

Colorado throws the book at Jessica Ridgeway's killer

 

(Can't read this court document? Click the image to enlarge it.)

 

 

"Austin Reed Sigg unlawfully and feloniously, acting alone, committed sexual assault, and in the course of or in furtherance of that crime caused the death of Jessica Ridgeway...There's DNA evidence, and the evidence is overwhelming."

 

 

 - SUMMARY OF THE SEVENTEEN SEPARATE CHARGES -

 
COUNT  1: Murder in the First Degree per intentional and premeditated homicide
 
COUNT  2: Murder in the First degree during the commission of kidnapping

COUNT  3: Murder in the First Degree during the commission of robbery

COUNT  4: Murder in the First Degree during the commission of sexual assault

COUNT  5: Second Degree Kidnapping - aggravated by sexual offense
 
COUNT  6: Crime of Violence (sentence enhancer for first degree offenses)

COUNT  7: Second Degree Kidnapping - aggravated by robbery

COUNT  8: Crime of Violence (sentence enhancer for second degree offenses)

COUNT  9: Sexual Assault On a Child - aggravated by age variables
 
COUNT 10: Crime of Violence (sentence enhancer for sexual assault on a child)

COUNT 11: Robbery as a result of force, intimidation, or threats

COUNT 12: Criminal Attempted Murder in the First Degree of female jogger May 2012

COUNT 13: Crime of Violence (sentence enhancer for attempted first degree murder)

COUNT 14: Criminal Attempted Sexual Assault of female jogger May 2012

COUNT 15: Crime of Violence (sentence enhancer for attempted sexual assault)

COUNT 16: Criminal Attempted Second Degree Kidnapping of female jogger May 2012

COUNT 17: Crime of Violence (sentence enhancer, attempted second degree kidnapping)
 
 

Austin Sigg charged with 17 counts today

Teenage psychokiller Austin Reed Sigg made a formal court appearance today in Jefferson County Colorado where he finally learned the extent of the charges he will have to face for the kidnapping, sexual assault, murder, and dismemberment of schoolgirl Jessica Ridgeway earlier this month.

Some of the 17 counts brought against Sigg pertain as well to the attempted abduction and murder this past spring of an adult female in the park across from where Sigg lives and close to where his 10-year-old victim also resided. He unsuccessfully tried to use a chemical-soaked rag to overcome that particular victim. The woman managed to escape and reported the incident to police.

But the majority of the charges against Austin Sigg--some 11 in all--relate solely to the Ridgeway girl's slaying. These include four counts of murder in the first degree, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, robbery, and sexual assault on a child.

 

For the record, one of those murder counts has been additionally described as 'after deliberation'. The kidnapping and sexual assault charges are also each accompanied by a 'crime of violence' sentence enhancer, indicating the eagerness of prosecutors to put this dangerous predator away for as long as legally possible.

Sigg, who will be tried now as an adult and will therefore no longer have the same measure of case secrecy as he's thus far enjoyed, sat shackled and grimfaced at the hearing. However, despite having the book thrown at him (so to speak) some of the privileges of being a juvenile will still linger to his advantage: Even a youth who is tried, convicted and sentenced as an adult cannot be put to death or jailed for life without parole, because, according to the US Supreme Court, both kinds of sentences when applied to a minor are "cruel and unusual" punishments.

The maximum amount of time Sigg will serve for his heinous crime spree then is 40 years.

 

Police seek secondary crime scene in Ridgeway girl's slaying



A search of self-confessed murderer Austin Reed Sigg's Westminster Colorado residence produced the missing parts of Jessica Ridgeway's body, stashed by the killer in a crawlspace beneath his home, but no evidence that her corpse had actually been dismembered in that location.

 

Investigators have therefore extended their search now to the suspect's father's nearby mansion, hoping to pinpoint the secondary crime scene they know must exist and, possibly, to find more clues and evidence that may link this budding young serial killer to other attempted abductions and/or homicides in the area.

 

Sigg's father, Robert Sigg, a career criminal himself, has a rap sheet about a mile long which dates back to the early 80's and includes drug dealing, battery, and fraud. It's not known at this time the true source of his revenue which would facilitate owning and maintaining such a tony address and acreage (shown above), but he recently undertook to remove all of his online business profiles from the web following the news of his son's arrest and confession in the Ridgeway murder. 

 

Robert Sigg (pictured in the above police booking) is allegedly out of the country, but issued  condolences to the Ridgeway family this week in a carefully and eloquently worded statement.

 

He is divorced from Austin's biological mother Mindy, but took both on an impromptu luxury vacation in the Virgin Islands shortly after the unsuccessful attempted abduction of a female jogger in the park across the street from the Sigg's Westminster home in May 2012. Austin Sigg has confessed to that assault as well and his DNA was matched to the Ridgeway girl's slaying from evidence taken at that time. 

 

When informed of these developments, authorities in the Virgin Islands expressed grave concerns about the case and are currently in the process of reviewing their missing person reports during the timeframe that Austin Sigg, and convicted felon Robert Sigg and his ex-wife, were *vacationing* in their country.

 

Of the threesome, only Mindy Sigg has no police record of any kind, as it has just been learned that Austin Sigg had at least one mark on his record prior to being apprehended this month for abduction and murder. Because he is a minor, that matter was brought in the juvenile justice system and, at the date of this writing, remains sealed and a mystery.

 

Austin Siggs was also reprimanded and treated for a pornography addiction. He was only 15-years-old at the time of this offense. A family member with knowledge of these charges made the following remarks, on condition of anonymity:
 

“We heard that he was in counseling over issues related to the family breaking up--you know, Rob was in and out of prison sort of thing--but while Mindy kept telling everyone she was told this kind of phase of wearing black,  being holed up in his room playing video games, and charging porn movies on her accounts was normal for a teenage boy,  we had discussed someone taking the lead and mentioning we thought Austin did not seem “normal” for as long as I could remember.  But then he had a girlfriend for a while and he seemed to sort of snap out of it. 

"The last thing I remember was that they had gone to some formal and the next thing we knew Austin was pulled out of school and in intensive therapy for a pornographic addiction, so I don’t know if that is what broke the kids up, or what.   Mindy had it rough with the two boys on her own. She put herself through that school in Denver on her own dime while Rob got locked up at about the same time.  I think the kids were probably very much on their own and by the time Austin started having really big issues, it may have been too late obviously.

"We still don’t know how he [Rob Sigg] comes out of prison and paid off over $140K in fines while Mindy was forced to file bankruptcy this summer. I tried to look up Rob’s stuff on the internet, but a bunch of the files from his criminal case are still sealed.”

Austin Sigg was studying mortuary science and crime scene investigation at Arapahoe Community College at the time of his arrest. His father, Robert Sigg, is not as yet a suspected accomplice in the Jessica Ridgeway killing, but sources indicate that his activities are necessarily being scrutinized now too, considering his own criminal background and the serious nature of the crimes his son has planned and orchestrated.

Full coverage of the Sigg serial abductions and slayings will be posted here soon

as part of the  upcoming Kids Killing Kids special true crime report - visit again.