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.]
 

A hint at things to come...

 

What do these homicidal maniacs all have in common?

 

  

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.

 

 

Catching a budding serial killer: Austin Reed Sigg profile at a glance

name: Austin Reed Sigg

reported by: mother
residence: Westminster, Colorado
sex: male
age: 17
education: high school dropout - GED
employment: student at Arapahoe Community College
studying: forensic and mortuary sciences
crime: kidnapping and murder; unlawful disposal of a corpse
condition of victim's body: not intact
hoarding body parts: yes
confession: yes - voluntary
arrested and arraigned: yes
relationship to victim: none / neighbor
stalked victim: yes
prior offenses: assault and attempted kidnapping; pornography
aliases: "Dohastvath" (MySpace.com) "DNA" (YouTube.com)
hobbies: online gaming, pornography, video games, forensics
currently incarcerated at: Mount View Youth Services Center
bond: none

Officials: "Jessica's Killer Apprehended"

Is this the face of Jessica's killer?

 

COLORADO - BREAKING NEWS: Authorities investigating the abduction, slaying, and dismemberment of ten-year-old Jessica Ridgeway have arrested a local college student and charged him with her brutal death.

 

Austin Reed Sigg, 17, was arrested late Tuesday night, and, today, in the early morning hours, Jessica's parents were at last informed by police that the killer was in custody.

 

"We hope and pray this arrest gives them some measure of closure in dealing with their horrible loss and tragedy," said Westminster Police Chief Lee Birk, who also just apprised reporters of these latest developments.

 

Sigg, a student at nearby Arapahoe Community College, whose studies apparently also  include criminal justice, is additionally connected to a botched attempt in May to abduct a female jogger in the park near where Jessica lived.  The woman also reported that he tried to place a rag over her mouth which smelled of chemicals.

 

Jessica Ridgeway was walking to school on October 5th 2012 when she vanished without a trace. About a week later some of her mutilated parts were found dumped in an open area less than seven miles from her residence. Local and state police, as well as FBI investigators, have all along believed her murderer lived somewhere in her community and that he knew the girl's route and routine prior to snatching her.

 

Authorities have relentlessly been working day and night for a major break in this shocking case, and now they finally have it, they say.

 

If so, then R.I.P., young Jessica Ridgeway. And peace be with you now.

 

 

Find a Fiend

JUSTICE FOR JESSICA

ten-year-old Jessica Ridgeway

was abducted on her way to school,

killed, dismembered, and dumped

 

Mental health experts estimate that approximately one per hundred individuals worldwide are psychopathic. One percent doesn’t seem that big a deal in the scheme of things, of course, but it’s still not a number to scoff at since these individuals manage to perpetrate a whopping 30% of all violent crimes committed annually and constitute more than 25% of the prison population.

Predominately male, psychopaths come from every walk of life--every ethnic, every race, every nationality--and their inherited tendencies toward remorselessness and a lack of empathy makes them toxic people to know, whether or not they ever engage in acts of violence.

Thankfully, statistics show that most psychopaths are not usually dangerous individuals. These more benign types exist day to day in a “sub-criminal” state of mind, infecting and disaffecting all they meet with their unabashed selfishness, their compulsive lying and boasting, and their guiltless pursuit of pleasure and gain at other people’s expense. In short, though this aberrant majority may stop shy of actually plotting and executing criminal offenses, they still live at all times on the very edge of civility.

When a psychopath does fall over that precipice, however, when his motives and impulses become uncontrollable and reach far beyond the bounds of civilization, he becomes a serious threat to society.

Life-threatening.

The demented psycho who, for a thrill kill, abducted and murdered 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway this October, and then dumped parts of her mutilated body in garbage bags a few miles from her Colorado home, is still at large in the area and, undoubtedly, has killed before and will kill again.

In fact, investigators have just confirmed that DNA lifted from the victim’s remains and from various items uncovered at the crime scene directly link this madman to at least two prior foiled abductions of young women who were jogging in the park right across from Jessica’s house.

And, to make matters worse for the terrified community this vivacious schoolgirl once lived in, profilers suggest that it’s very likely the murderer is not a complete stranger, but rather someone who resides and/or works in the neighborhood.

That assertion would be consistent then with national homicide stats which reveal that, in over 85% of all murders, the victims are somehow acquainted with or even related to their killers.

The only good news in this tragic and frightening affair, is that dozens of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are on the Ridgeway case, relentlessly striving to identify Jessica’s sadistic killer before he can strike again. Police know by the magnitude of this slaying that he’s on a spree, so time is of the essence in apprehending him.

With that aim, they are actively seeking assistance from the public in deciphering clues recently collected. Of specific interest to them at this time is a small wooden cross that may have been a pendant to a necklace, and which was recovered in the open field near where Jessica’s body parts were found. Some telltale grocer receipts were discovered near that site too, evidence which has additionally helped to narrow the focus of the search for a perpetrator.

As well, officials are also asking neighbors to maintain a state of vigilance now and to report any suspicious behavior of colleagues, coworkers, family members, or friends, particularly on the morning of Jessica’s abduction and during the days immediately following it. They say conduct that ought to send up red flags would be any or all of the following:

1. A person suddenly missing work or appointments, with or without a plausible excuse;

2. Making dramatic changes in their personal appearance;

3. Making alterations to their vehicle;

4. Escalating the use of alcohol or other substances;

5. Packing up and leaving town without notice;

6. Having an obsessive interest in media coverage of the case, possibly coupled with an extreme unwillingness to discuss the murder whenever the subject is raised.

Additional details concerning a potential suspect profile have also been furnished in the past few days. Investigators believe that the individual in question is a short Caucasian male between 18 and 40 years of age, and so profoundly disturbed that his psychological issues would be hard to disguise, in general, and well known to those who see him on a regular basis. There is also a good chance that the man is unattractive and unkempt, expert profilers say, two physical characteristics allegedly quite common to this class of serial offender.

 

Police affirmed just yesterday that Jessica’s schoolbag, located in an adjacent city almost a week after the child’s disappearance, contained her clothes, and was planted there by the killer both as a taunt and as a decoy intended to lead them away from his trail. This further underscores their working theory that the perp is a resident of Jessica Ridgeway’s hometown and may even live within walking distance from her home.

With Halloween looming at month’s end, and the prospect of children en masse trick-or-treating in a municipality where a vicious and opportunistic murderer is on the loose searching for easy prey, there is a growing sense of urgency by law enforcement personnel to solve the Ridgeway abduction and slaying as quickly as possible. They have been following through on literally thousands of leads in the case and are asking for more public help of this nature.

Jessica’s killer originally tried to abduct grown females for his victims, but, when those attempts proved unsuccessful, he switched to younger targets. This is a grim reminder that, as adults become increasingly more prudent and cautious in order to avoid becoming victims of crime, children are made all the more vulnerable to those whose deviance knows no limits and whose bloodlust can never be quenched.

But, despite Hollywood’s penchant for portraying these ruthless predators as omnipotent, they are not brilliant and invincible. The murderer of young Jessica Ridgeway may delude himself into thinking he’s as evil a genius as the fictitious Hannible “the cannibal” Lecter, but he is terribly mistaken in that belief, and has made some serious mistakes along the way, too. Yes, apparently his DNA does not match any currently on file in the nation’s sex-offender databases, but that’s not a real obstacle to catching him. Rest assured, this sick creep can and will be brought to justice soon.

Tips to the authorities can be phoned in at 303-658-4336, or, alternately, emailed to PDamberalert@cityofwestminster.us.