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Austin Sigg sentenced to life in kidnap/murder of Jessica Ridgeway

By Jordan Steffen - The Denver Post

November 19, 2013

GOLDEN — As Austin Sigg was sentenced on Tuesday to a life behind bars, a judge and prosecutor said Sigg himself offered the best word to describe what he had done to Jessica Ridgeway: evil.

"Evil is apparently real," said Jefferson County District Court Chief Judge Stephen Munsinger. "It was present in our community on Oct. 5, 2012. On that day, its name was Austin Sigg."

In a complicated sentence, Munsinger imposed the maximum sentence for several of the 15 counts, ensuring that Sigg, 18, will never leave prison.

Sigg pleaded guilty to all of the counts against him in October, including first-degree murder in Jessica's death and attempted kidnapping for an attack on a jogger at Ketner Lake in May 2012. Because Sigg was 17 when he killed Jessica, the first-degree murder charge carries an automatic sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

Munsinger, however, ordered Sigg to serve an additional 86 years after he becomes eligible for parole. The judge rejected defense attorneys' arguments that such a sentence was unconstitutional or cruel and unusual punishment.

"This case cries out for a life sentence," Munsinger said.

Law enforcement, prosecutors and Jessica's family exchanged hugs and wiped away tears after the sentencing.

"The damage, the hurt, the loss remains," District Attorney Pete Weir said after the hearing. "We hope for closure for families but at times I think that's a hollow term."

He added: "The full weight of the law has come to bear on Austin Sigg. It's not enough. More is needed, but it's all we can do."

Sigg declined to speak during his two-day sentencing hearing. As Munsinger went through the charges, listing the maximum allowable time for most of them, Sigg stared forward. He did not look back at Jessica's family or his mother, Mindy.

Mindy Sigg repeatedly sobbed while gruesome details about her son's crime were discussed. But as Munsinger ordered Sigg's sentence, she calmly stared forward toward her son.

Jessica's mother left the courtroom before Chief Deputy District Attorney Hal Sargent began describing Jessica's last hours alive.

Soft sobs and sniffles echoed in the packed courtroom as Sargent told how Sigg waited in the back seat of his Jeep, watching Jessica. He waited until she walked next to his car and then grabbed her, bound her arms and legs and threw her in the back seat.

"It's painful to imagine what he did to her in that time," Sargent said. "We know he sexually assaulted her."

He described the nearly two hours Sigg kept Jessica in his bedroom, where he made her watch a movie while he cut her hair and laid out clothes for her to change into. When he tried to strangle Jessica with zip ties, the plastic cut into his hands and he later told police that he didn't "have enough leverage," Sargent said.

Sigg eventually strangled Jessica with his bare hands for up to three minutes. When he saw Jessica twitching, Sigg filled a bathtub with scalding hot water and forced her face down into it.

Sargent said he did not want to detail how Sigg methodically dismembered Jessica. Sigg told police at the time that he was fulfilling a sexual fantasy.

During Tuesday's hearing, Sargent struggled to describe the crime.

"Perhaps Austin Sigg's words are best," he said. Sigg told investigators: "There is no better word to describe what I have done than evil."

Jessica's disappearance on Oct. 5, 2012, set off a massive search effort that at one point included more than 1,000 people and 75 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

On Oct. 23, Mindy Sigg called police after her son confessed to her that he had kidnapped and killed Jessica. He told his mother he was a monster and needed to be punished.

Jessica's family declined to speak with reporters after the hearing, but Sargent said the family hopes that the community doesn't remember Jessica for the way she died but for how she lived.

"He stole from Jessica her future," he said. "Not only everything she was but everything she would be."

Jessica's family shared memories and photos of the joyous, caring girl on Monday. Sigg wept in court as he watched as images of Jessica, smiling behind her purple glasses, flashed before him. On Tuesday, defense attorneys presented, for the first time, a glimpse into Sigg's childhood with a slide show that included photos of Sigg as a baby and smiling child.

For months, defense attorneys presented experts and arguments suggesting that Sigg was not mature enough or able to completely understand his actions. But prosecutors maintained that Sigg meticulously planned before he went "hunting" for the woman at Ketner Lake, and Jessica four months later.

"It's a chilling thought to think of what a fully matured Austin Sigg is capable of," Sargent said.

CBS4 Obtains Chilling 911 Call From Mindy Sigg Turning In Her Son

DenverCBSlocal.com

November 20, 2013

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) – A mother’s courage can be heard in a 911 call as she turned her son in for murder. Not only did Mindy Sigg call for help, she handed the phone to her son Austin who confessed to killing Jessica Ridgeway.

CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger requested the tape of the dramatic call after first hearing it in court.

From their home Austin Sigg’s mother Mindy called police.

Mindy Sigg: “Hi, um, I need you to come to my house … um, my son wants to turn himself in for the Jessica Ridgeway murder.”

The words apparently seemed incredible — that Austin Sigg was turning himself in, admitting to the murder the 10-year-old girl.

Dispatcher: “And what’s going on there. Ma’am, are you there?”

Mindy Sigg: “Did you not hear me? He just confessed to killing her.”

Dispatcher: “I know. I want you to tell me what’s going on. Can you tell me exactly what he said?”

Mindy Sigg: “That he did it and gave me details and her remains are in my house.”

As police were dispatched to the Sigg home the call taker asked if she could speak to Austin and asked how he was feeling.

Austin Sigg: “I don’t exactly get why you’re asking me these questions. I murdered Jessica Ridgeway.”

Dispatcher: “Okay.”

Austin Sigg: “There is … I have proof that I did it … there is no other question. You just have to send a squad car, something down here.”

Austin Sigg also admitted to attacking a jogger at Ketner Lake. He was then asked if he had weapons.

Austin Sigg: “I have knives in my room, um, and we own a few guns, but … I’m giving myself up completely, there will be no resistance whatsoever.”

The dispatcher then is heard once again talking to Mindy Sigg.

Dispatcher: “Is Austin still there with you?”

Mindy Sigg: “Yeah, I’m hugging him (crying).”

Dispatcher: “Okay, you guys are hugging? … Okay, you definitely did the right thing. You tell me when the officers get there, they’re coming to your front door, okay?

At one point in the call Mindy Sigg is so distraught she says she can’t breathe.

What started for her with that phone call ended Tuesday with her son being sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole.

Austin Sigg cries as Jessica Ridgeway's family remembers 10-year-old girl he killed

By Jordan Steffen - The Denver Post

November 18, 2013

Trapped in Austin Sigg's bedroom, Jessica Ridgeway repeatedly asked him if she was going to see her mom again.

He promised her she would as he cut her hair and forced the 10-year-old to change clothes. Then he wrapped his hands around her neck and strangled her.

Since his arrest more than a year ago, Sigg has sat stoically during court appearances while attorneys and experts slowly revealed the gruesome details of Jessica's death and dismemberment. But he wept openly Monday, as Jessica's family remembered the joyous and caring 10-year-old girl he took from them.

"I miss her with every breath," said Christine Ridgeway, Jessica's grandmother. "There are no more hugs or kisses or her little toes digging into mine on the couch."

During the first day of Sigg's two-day sentencing hearing in Jefferson County District Court, Jessica's family spoke about the light Jessica brought to their lives and the fear and loss they've suffered since her murder.

Sigg pleaded guilty in October to 15 counts, including first-degree murder, sexual assault of a child and attempted kidnapping for Jessica's death and an attack on a female jogger in May 2012.

Because Sigg was 17 at the time of the crime, he may not receive a sentence of life in prison without parole. He must be eligible for parole after serving 40 years, but prosecutors and Jessica's family asked Jefferson County District Court Chief Judge Stephen Munsinger to order Sigg to serve his sentences consecutively, ensuring he is never eligible for release.

"This monster took away the light, at least in my life," Christine Ridgeway said. "I would like to know that Mr. Sigg is in a very small cell for the rest of his life."

But Jessica's mother, Sarah Ridgeway, gave Sigg little consideration and time on Monday.

"I don't think the defendant has a right to hear how he has affected me," Sarah Ridgeway said. "Once we walk out of this courtroom, we will no longer remember his name, only the legacy Jessica left behind."

Instead, Sarah Ridgeway shared photos of her daughter.

Sigg and others watched as Jessica grew from a smiling baby to a toddler in princess costumes and oversized swim goggles. The pictures showed the little girl who loved to make up dances, sitting with her family at a Rockies game, feeding giraffes and sledding.

Then the pictures stopped and Jessica became 10 forever.

"Now when people ask me, 'How many grandkids do you have?' I have to say, 'Seven, but I used to have eight,' " said Angie Moss, Jessica's other grandmother.

Moss held back tears as she asked the judge to give Sigg the maximum sentence.

"I can't imagine being his mother, trying to live with the fact that I raised a child like that, to live with or know that I had raised a child that was capable of doing this," Moss said. "I can't imagine the damage that has been done to his mother."

Behind Moss, Sigg's mother, Mindy, shook, hunched over, her head down as she sobbed.

Mindy Sigg called police Oct. 23, 2012, after her son confessed to her that he had kidnapped and killed Jessica. Sigg, however, told his mother, "I didn't rape her, I didn't torture her," according to psychologist Anna Salter, who testified for the prosecution.

Salter did not directly examine Sigg, but she reviewed evidence, police interviews and other facts of the case in writing her report for the prosecution. Salter said Sigg tried to hide what he viewed as his worst offense from his mother.

There has been no testimony so far indicating that Sigg tortured Jessica before killing her, although his first attempt at strangulation failed when a zip cord broke.

Sigg cut Jessica's hair, then forced her to put her clothes into her school backpack and put on clothes from his closet. Salter said this may have been an attempt to fulfill a sexual fantasy.

Salter said Sigg likely was sexually aroused by dismemberment. Sigg kept certain body parts, including Jessica's skull, which Salter says he was particularly interested in. He also labeled the organs he removed.

Other parts of Jessica's body were found in an Arvada field, days after she was kidnapped, Oct. 5, 2012.

Sigg's mother found child pornography on his computer in 2008, Salter testified.

Sigg's stepmother sent him to treatment, and doctors urged his father to control his son's access to television and computers.

Salter testified that viewing the violent child pornography was just part of Sigg's meticulous planning and calculated, callous behavior.

"This was not an impulse he had and then felt horrible about later," Salter said.

The second day of the hearing will begin around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Austin Sigg Pleads Guilty To Jessica Ridgeway’s Murder

Denver.CBSlocal.com

October 1, 2013

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP/CBS4) – A Colorado teen charged with kidnapping and killing a 10-year-old girl pleaded guilty Tuesday to all 15 charges against him, against the advice of his attorneys.

Austin Sigg, 18, could be sent to prison for the rest of his life for the slaying of Jessica Ridgeway in Westminster nearly a year ago. Jessica was abducted while walking to school, and her disappearance panicked thousands of residents in Denver’s western suburbs.

Sigg also pleaded guilty Tuesday to a May 2012 attack on a 22-year-old jogger at a lake in Jessica’s neighborhood.

Prosecutors said Sigg entered the pleas because of overwhelming evidence against him. His trial would have started Thursday.

“The writing was on the wall,” Jefferson County District Attorney Peter Weir said after the hearing.

Sigg faces a minimum sentence of 40 years in prison with the possibility of parole afterward when he is sentenced after a hearing starting Nov. 18. Prosecutors asked Judge Stephen Munsinger to impose consecutive sentences on some of the other charges so Sigg spends the rest of his life behind bars. Sigg’s lawyers argue the law doesn’t allow that.

Sigg cannot face the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the slaying.

“Today Austin Sigg was held accountable for the despicable things he’s done and the horrors he perpetrated on our community,” Weir said.

Defense attorney Mitch Ahnstedt told the court that Sigg was entering the pleas against his lawyers’ counsel but he didn’t explain why.

Sigg’s father, Rob Sigg, said in a statement that he was thankful that the Ridgeway family would be spared the ordeal of a trial.

“We ask the community to continue to support the Ridgeway family and keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” he said.

The families of both Jessica and Sigg were in the courtroom Tuesday. Sigg spoke only to answer the judge’s questions about whether he understood what he was agreeing to.

After Sigg pleaded guilty, prosecutor Hal Sargent started to describe how Sigg grabbed Jessica, pulled her into his car and tied up her hands and feet, leading Jessica’s mother, Sarah Ridgeway, to leave the courtroom. Munsinger stopped him after defense attorneys objected, saying they weren’t disputing the evidence.

Jessica, a fifth-grader who loved purple and performing in a peewee cheerleading squad, left home to walk to school in Westminster on Oct. 5, 2012. She never arrived.

Hundreds of people helped search for her. Jessica’s backpack was found two days later in Superior, a town about 6 miles from her home. Days after that, human remains later identified as Jessica’s were found in a park.

Authorities, meanwhile, urged residents to watch for any suspicious changes in neighbors’ behavior. Officers guarded crosswalks and photographed cars in the area. Parents escorted their children to and from area schools. Mailboxes and trees were encircled by ribbons in Jessica’s favorite color, purple.

On Oct. 19, 2012, a resident contacted authorities to alert them to Sigg because he reportedly had a fascination with death, Westminster police Detective Luis Lopez testified at a preliminary hearing. FBI agents took a DNA sample from Sigg.

On Oct. 23, Sigg’s mother, Mindy Sigg, called 911, saying her son wanted to confess.

Investigators said Sigg told them some of Jessica’s remains were hidden in a crawl space in his mother’s home, where he lived. They said Sigg described how he abducted Jessica as she walked past his car. He said he bound her arms and her legs, drove around for a little bit, then took her to his house.

There, he told investigators, Sigg tried to strangle the girl and then used his hands to kill her. He also allegedly told investigators that he dismembered Jessica in a bathtub.

Lopez said Sigg’s DNA was found on Jessica’s clothing.

Sigg dropped out of high school after the 11th grade and later earned a graduate equivalency diploma. Former classmates say he was intelligent but complained about school and was bullied for having a high voice.

When asked about his criminal record on the 911 call, Sigg told the dispatcher: “The only other thing that I have done was the Ketner Lake incident where the woman got attacked. That was me.”

In the attack on the jogger, investigator Michael Lynch testified that Sigg used homemade chloroform to attempt to subdue the woman. She escaped.

- By Colleen Slevin, AP Writer

  

Judge: Austin Sigg must face trial in death of Jessica Ridgeway

By Kirk Mitchell - The Denver Post

February 22, 2013

GOLDEN — Only when it was inevitable that DNA would reveal him as Jessica Ridgeway's killer did a 17-year-old confess to his mother: "I'm a monster."

It was one of numerous revelations at a preliminary hearing for Austin Sigg, now 18, on Friday in which Judge Stephen Munsinger bound him over for trial on 18 of 20 counts relating to the death of 10-year-old Jessica and an attack on a jogger at Ketner Lake over Memorial Day weekend last year.

Prosecutors dismissed two additional charges.

Sigg didn't admit he kidnapped, strangled and dismembered Ridgeway until a neighbor called a tip line Oct. 19 and gave police the lead they needed to solve the case, according to testimony at the preliminary hearing.

On that day, two FBI agents went to the Sigg home, and Sigg submitted his DNA. Four days later, after he confessed, he chided authorities for taking so long to process the DNA with someone as dangerous as him running around. They should have brought in more resources, he criticized.

Westminster police Detective Albert Stutson testified that Sigg got on the phone after his mother called to report him and said, "I murdered Jessica Ridgeway. I have proof that I did it. You should send a squad car down here. I'll answer all the questions. I won't resist."

During Stutson's testimony, a tape of the phone call Sigg's mother, Mindy Sigg, made to police Oct. 23 was played. Several members of Sigg's family who were seated behind him began sobbing while the tape was played.

"My son wants to turn himself in for the Jessica Ridgeway murder. He just confessed to killing her," Mindy Sigg is heard saying.

When the dispatcher asked her what her son had told her, Mindy Sigg replied, "That he did it, and he gave me details."

The dispatcher told her she was doing the right thing, and she replied, "He did it. He's turning himself in."

Then, Austin Sigg took the phone and confessed.

Detective Michael Lynch later interviewed Mindy Sigg.

He testified that she said she came home from work and that her son was lying on her bed and told her he needed to tell her something.

"I'm a monster," he told his mother.

He also said he had attacked the jogger. He said he used a red rag soaked in chloroform that he made using a recipe he found on the Internet.

Lynch's testimony of his interviews revealed that Austin Sigg grabbed Jessica when she was walking by his car. He put her in the back seat and tied her with zip ties around her arms and legs, then drove around for a while.

Sigg took Jessica to his bedroom. He took her clothes off. He tried to choke her with zip ties, then strangled her.

Under defense cross-examination, Lynch said Sigg denied sexually assaulting and torturing Jessica.

He told his mother that he dismembered her body in the bathtub with a saw he found in the garage. He then bagged up pieces of her body and hid them in a crawl space beneath their home.

Two workers from a dump found Jessica's torso in a shiny garbage bag. One of the men opened the bag and found another bag inside. He dumped that bag on the ground. A supervisor arrived, opened the bag with a pocket knife and saw the torso.

Mindy Sigg told police some of Jessica's remains were in the crawl space of her house.

An autopsy determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation secondary to suffocation or strangulation.

Anissa Jones, a sexual-assault nurse examiner, testified that she examined Jessica's torso and determined that there was evidence that she had been bruised, cut and sexually assaulted.

The lead police detective in the case testified that DNA evidence linked Sigg to the clothing of the jogger who was assaulted May 28 and to the clothing and body of Jessica.

Detective Luis Lopez testified that a wooden cross was found along with Jessica's torso. DNA on the body was linked to evidence found on clothing of the jogger.

Lopez said evidence found in Jessica's backpack also pointed to Sigg. The backpack contained Jessica's prescription glasses and clothing — her tie-dye T-shirt, her pants, panties and boots with pompoms.

After authorities released photos of the wooden cross, a neighbor of Austin Sigg's called police, Lopez testified. The neighbor said Sigg wore such a cross, and she said he was taking mortuary-science classes and was interested in dead animal and human bodies.

Jessica was kidnapped on her way to school Oct. 5. Her body was discovered by the two workers five days later in a field in Arvada. Sigg was arrested Oct. 23.

The Colorado Supreme Court on Thursday reversed an order by Munsinger closing the preliminary hearing.

Several media organizations, including The Denver Post, challenged the ruling, saying Munsinger did not follow the law before closing the hearing.

  

17-Year-Old Arrested In Jessica Ridgeway Murder Investigation

Denver.CBSlocal.com

October 24, 2012

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4)- Police in Westminster have made an arrest in the Jessica Ridgeway murder investigation.

Police announced the arrest of Austin Reed Sigg on Wednesday morning. The 17-year-old is a Westminster resident. He is being held on two counts of investigation of murder, kidnapping and criminal attempt at the Mount View Youth Services Center.

“We have taken a significant step towards justice for Jessica,” said Westminster Police Chief Lee Birk during a noon news conference on Wednesday. “We have made an arrest in the Jessica Ridgeway case. Seventeen-year-old Austin Sigg is in our custody.”

Police were alerted to Sigg as the suspect when police said he confessed to his mother and she called police Tuesday. After officers arrived at their home, he turned himself into police.

Sigg is described as a white teen male, 5-foot-6, 160 pounds, brown hair and green eyes. He was born in Colorado.

Sigg was taken into police custody at his home in the 10600 block of 102nd Avenue in Westminster on Tuesday evening. That is near Ketner Lake Open Space, several blocks from where Jessica was abducted on her way to Witt Elementary School on Oct. 5.

Sigg attended Witt Elementary, the same school Jessica attended when she was abducted. Sigg was enrolled in Jefferson County Schools from fifth to eleventh grade. After Witt Elementary, he attended Wayne Carle Middle School and Standley Lake High School.

Sigg attended Warren Tech at the same time as Standley Lake High School. Sigg did not receive a diploma from Jefferson County Schools, however he did complete the GED program and received a certificate.

Sigg was enrolled in the forensic science program at Arapahoe Community College in Littleton. Classmates told CBS4 he wanted to be a mortician.

Sigg is being held in the Mount View Services Center. Police said that is the usual place where juveniles who have been arrested are held.

Police said late Tuesday evening police received a call that led them to a home near the Ketner Lake Open Space in Westminster. They were able to arrest Sigg in the 10-year-old’s murder.

“Though an arrest has been made there continues to be a substantial amount of work, leads, follow up that has to be done,” said Westminster Police spokesman Trevor Materasso. “If you look at this and recognize or you think there is any information that would still benefit the investigation we would continue to ask that you call the Westminster Police Department.”

Authorities were also able to file charges against Sigg for the May 28 attempted abduction of a woman jogging near Ketner Lake.

Sigg is tentatively scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

“We want to thank the community for the thousands of tips they have provided in this case,” said Birk. “Those tips have been instrumental and very helpful in this case.”

Police in Westminster searched Sigg’s home where he lived with his mother for evidence on Wednesday.

Investigators seemed to take particular interest in a Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV that was parked in the driveway of Sigg’s home. The vehicle was hauled away on a tow truck for investigation. Copter4 followed it to a garage at the Westminster Police Department where it will be examined and evidence collected.

“We can’t give you a lot of information. Affidavits in this case have been sealed. That’s under a court order. We all are precluded from giving too much detail,” said Jefferson County District Attorney Scott Storey.

According to the arrest report, Sigg was cooperative with police and waived his rights when taken into custody Tuesday night.

“We notified the Ridgeway family this morning of this arrest. It gives them some measure of closure in dealing with this horrible tragedy and loss that they have suffered,” said Birk. “We also hope that knowing that an arrest has been made in this case can cause our community to rest a little easier and maybe feel a little safer.”

Police have not said whether DNA from one of the crime scenes, either Ridgeway’s Westminster neighborhood or Ketner Lake, helped lead them to a suspect.

“The home that you see is in and around the area that law enforcement have been working since the beginning of the investigation,” said Materasso.

Gov. John Hickenlooper released this statement about the arrest in the investigation, “Every parent in every Colorado community will rest a little easier tonight. While we still mourn the death of Jessica Ridgeway, we are relieved an arrest has been made and the pursuit of justice can continue. We are especially grateful today to law enforcement officers at all levels for their quick action in this case.”

“All of the samples that we’ve taken up to this point have been voluntarily donated by the people who we’re contacting,” Materasso said on Tuesday.

The samples fall into several categories — those contacted in the canvass of Ridgeway’s neighborhood or where her backpack was found in Superior; people in the area who were on cellphones at the time of the disappearance; and those who might fit the description of the person who they are seeking, who they described as 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8 with light skin and brown hair.

Police confirm 500 samples have been taken.

Jessica Ridgeway Murder Timeline

- Jessica Ridgeway, 10, disappeared on her way to school on the morning of Oct. 5. After leaving home on foot, she never met up with friends she normally walks to school with at Chelsea Park. The park is about three blocks from her home and about a mile from the school.

- When she didn’t arrive at Witt Elementary School in Westminster, Jefferson County Schools officials tried to contact her mother. They made a call at 10 a.m. but were only able to leave a voicemail. Ridgeway’s mother, who works an overnight shift and sleeps during the day, didn’t get the message until 4:30 p.m. and immediately contacted Westminster police.

- It took about five hours before the protocols were met in the case for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to call an Amber Alert.

- Ridgeway’s backpack was found on the sidewalk near Alpha Court and Andrew Drive in the Rock Creek neighborhood in Superior. That’s 6.4 miles away from her home. It’s unknown so far at what point the backpack wound up there.

- The CBI analyzed the backpack for DNA evidence and collected evidence from Ridgeway’s home for comparison.

- Searches were taking place around Jessica’s home and her school, as well as in open space areas in Westminster. Another area that underwent an extensive search was Rock Creek and open space areas near there.

- A day after their tearful televised plea for help and thanks to the community, police on Oct. 10 ruled out Ridgeway’s parents as being involved in her disappearance. Police said Ridgeway may have been abducted by an unknown suspect.

- Late in the day on Oct. 11 Ridgeway’s body was found in Arvada on Highway near Pattridge Park Open Space and Highway 93, about seven miles from Ridgeway’s home.

- Police arrested Austin Reed Sigg, 17, at his home in the 10600 block of 102nd Avenue on Oct. 23. According to the police report, Sigg confessed to police and waived his rights when taken into custody.