Parents in Denver last fall were on edge as police searched for a suspect in the murder of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway. Neighbors were suspicious of one another as Jessica’s family were grieving their loss and hoping the police would find her killer. The FBI was also involved in the search and went so far as taking an unusual step in speaking with neighbors and asking them to report suspicious behavior exhibited by their family or neighbors.
It turned out that one of those residents eventually notified the authorities about Austin Sigg because he had a fascination with death, according to Westminster Detective Luis Lopez. As a result, two FBI agents contacted Sigg and took a DNA sample from him. Finally, four days after the FBI visited Sigg’s, Jessica’s killer was found as a teen suspect spoke with a 911 dispatcher and said that “I murdered Jessica Ridgeway. I have proof that I did it.” The teen suspect was none other than Austin Sigg.
When Austin Sigg called 911 on October 23 of last year, he began to tell the dispatcher that he murdered 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway as well as saying he had put her remains at his mother’s house inside a crawl space. Now 18, a judge has ordered Sigg to be held without bail and to stand trial for Jessica’s murder as well as an attack on jogger Ketner Lake that happened in May.
Investigator Michael Lynch testified that in the attack on Lake, Sigg used chloroform that he made from a recipe he downloaded from the internet so he could subdue his victim. The attack happened across the street from Jessica’s elementary school.
Lynch also testified that before the 911 call, Sigg told his mother about how he was responsible for murdering the 10-year-old girl. He also told her how he sat in his car and when Jessica walked past him, he kidnapped her as he bounded her legs and arms with zip ties, preceded to put her in the back seat of his car, drove around for a short time and then finally took her to his house. He attempted to strangle her using zip ties at first, but ended up using his hands, according to Lynch. He also said that Sigg dismembered the body later.
In Jessica’s death, Sigg has been charged with kidnapping, robbery, sexual assault and murder. Prosecutors, during the investigation, found evidence of child pornography (a video of a child was discovered) and as a result added three counts of sexual exploitation of a child.
As for the attack in regards to Lake, Sigg’s will face a charge of attempted kidnapping. Prosecutors decided to drop a charge of attempted murder and the judge ruled against a charge of sexual assault because there wasn’t enough evidence.
Austin’s mother, Mindy Sigg, spoke with Lynch by telling him that four days after the FBI spoke with her son and started their conversation with him by calling him a “monster,” he appeared to be sick and finally confessed to her. Mindy responded to the confession by dialing 911 and telling the dispatcher that her son had confessed to murdering Jessica and that he wanted to turn himself in.
The dispatcher asked the mother what her son told her and she replied, “That he did it, and he gave me details, and her remains are in my house.”
Mindy can be heard in the background crying as she asks her son if he is willing to talk with the dispatcher. He agrees as the dispatcher begins to ask him general questions in which he replies, “I don’t exactly get why you’re asking me these questions. I murdered Jessica Ridgeway. I have proof that I did it. You have to send a squad car down here, and I’ll answer any questions you want to ask me.”
He adds that the girl’s remains are in the crawl space. The dispatcher also asked him if he had a criminal record and responded in saying, “The only other thing that I have done was the Ketner Lake incident where the woman got attacked. That was me.”
Lopez confirmed that DNA belonging to Sigg was found on Jessica’s clothing – the type that would be left behind by touching something; however, no semen was discovered. When speaking with investigators, Lynch said that Sigg told them that he didn’t rape her. “It was a comment he had made right off the bat, `I didn’t rape her. I didn’t torture her.’”
However, sexual-assault examiner Anissa Jones testified that when she examined the 10-year-old’s torso, she reached the conclusion that there was evidence that she had been cut, bruised and sexually assaulted.
Not all of Jessica’s remains were in Sigg’s house as some were found in an open space park in garbage bags five days after she went missing on October 5th. Investigators for the first time revealed on Friday that her torso was found in those bags. Lopez also testified that cause of death was asphyxiation.
Though the judge ordered Friday’s hearing would be closed off to the public, media organizations argued the ruling with the Colorado Supreme Court and they overruled the judge by saying he failed to prove that Sigg’s right to a fair trial would be in jeopardy if the hearing was made available to the public.
March 12th is the date set for Sigg’s arraignment, where he will enter a plea.
Colorado Teen, Austin Sigg Heard on 911 Call Saying He Killed Jessica Ridgeway
A Colorado teenager told a 911 dispatcher last fall that he kidnapped and killed a missing suburban Denver school girl and hid her remains in a crawl space at his mother’s home, according to a recording played by a prosecutor in court Friday.
The recording was played at a preliminary hearing at which a judge decided there’s enough evidence for Austin Sigg to stand trial in both the death of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway and an attack on a jogger at nearby Ketner Lake in May.
Austin Sigg On 911 Call: ‘I Murdered Jessica Ridgeway. I Have Proof That I Did It.”
A judge ordered Austin Sigg, 18, to stand trial and be held without bail for Jessica’s slaying and a May attack on a jogger at Ketner Lake, which is across the street from Jessica’s elementary school. In the attack on the jogger, investigator Michael Lynch testified that Sigg used homemade chloroform concocted with a recipe found on the Internet to attempt to subdue a woman.
Austin Sigg Admits on 911 Call he Killed Jessica Ridgeway
Who is Austin Sigg?
Details of the life of 17-year-old Austin Sigg began to emerge after his arrest was announced in the Jessica ridgeway case.
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