CO - Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct 2012 - #21

[EmilyB]

I wasn't trying to argue with you. I agree that AS may not have done well with traditional schooling and sought out Warren Tech because of the different education it offered as well as the interest he has in forensic science. The point I was trying to make is that Warren Tech is NOT a school for troubled teens with behavioral and emotional problems. If the news said that, then they are incorrect. There are schools like that and maybe some even in Jeffco's system. But Warren Tech is not that type of school.

Oh, it's all good. Schools like that are viewed differently in different regions, obviously. Where I grew up, it was called a "middle college" and the kids who were struggling (whether socially or academically) went to these instead of dropping out and usually did really well. Like I said, I was basing my comment off what one of the kids who knew AS said in the news. I didn't mean that AS had behavioral or emotional problems, but he might have seen this as a way to get away from some of the bullying while studying something that interested him. He may have been a different person entirely at Warren Tech.

 

[AstroKitty]

That's almost Michael Jackson like high pitched. Not at all what I was expecting. My 12 year old (almost 13) hasn't really deepened yet so I suppose I was expecting that sort of pitch.

 

[18RAO18]

yes, there was a tip called in to MPN and then to LE. It has been debated if it was AS's mom or another person in the neighborhood.

Here is what was previously posted:

This new information comes on the heels of a tip sent to MPN Sunday with the name of a man fitting the description of the alleged attacker. A Westminster, CO, resident contacted our team via e-mail to provide the name of a man she feels fits the suspect description to “a tee.” A recent plea from the Westminster PD for assistance in identifying a cross found during the investigation sparked the tip to our team, as the man she named has “recently taken an interest in the Bible.” MPN investigated the information; and upon discovering a man with the same name fitting the suspect’s description lives in Jessica’s neighborhood, immediately forwarded the tip and our discoveries to the Westminster PD.
http://missingpersonsnews.com/archives/5469

 

[Eileen730]

Hmm...quoting myself here...I suppose the first could be viable if they wanted to find somebody who had seen AS with it since he attacked the jogger...but I still think they got DNA from the backpack and its belongings. Maybe he was stupid enough to drink from her water bottle, who knows!

I think some of his hair was on the backpack. Contamination from the car!
Or him running his hands thry his hair. JMO

 

[iamnotagolem]

Here is what was previously posted:

This new information comes on the heels of a tip sent to MPN Sunday with the name of a man fitting the description of the alleged attacker. A Westminster, CO, resident contacted our team via e-mail to provide the name of a man she feels fits the suspect description to “a tee.” A recent plea from the Westminster PD for assistance in identifying a cross found during the investigation sparked the tip to our team, as the man she named has “recently taken an interest in the Bible.” MPN investigated the information; and upon discovering a man with the same name fitting the suspect’s description lives in Jessica’s neighborhood, immediately forwarded the tip and our discoveries to the Westminster PD.
http://missingpersonsnews.com/archives/5469

Thanks for posting the link. This doesn't mean that the tip turned in had anything to do with AS.

 

[18RAO18]

Thanks for posting the link. This doesn't mean that the tip turned in had anything to do with AS.

I agree, I was just bumping up the link in response to a question about them closing the tip line center and reward account.

 

[Jax49]

Someone asked earlier why AS was being charged with two counts of murder.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_2...=Search-www.denverpost.com-www.denverpost.com

snipped

"...first-degree murder, felony murder and kidnapping in Jessica's case and criminal attempt to kidnap and to murder in the attack on the jogger..."

 

[jillycat]

Thank you Nurse, for clearing that up. Warren Tech is NOT for kids with behavioral problems; It is exactly what it "appears" to be: A Technical School.

I grew up in Arvada and was in the Jeffco School System my entire life. My best friend went to WT to learn Cosmetology before we graduated HS, and is still a very successful Cosmetologist and my Dad, back in the mid-70's also went to Warren Tech near Lakewood.

I know it is a minor point to actually make, but I want people to have the right information. WT does not equal kids with behavioral problems and I am not really sure of it's distinction between being an "Alternative" form of Education; it is, but for those who want to learn specific trades. So, it is a "good" alternative; But it is not an Alternative HS.

I just joined this forum after little Jessica went missing because honestly, I was scared to death and worried not just about me, but for the little ones in our community.

It is very unsettling to know there is a predator in our midst; even though I know they are always around, it's just scary, and as a recent divocee; it also makes one a little more hyper-vigilant.

TBH, I have always been interested in solving crimes and uncovering mysteries and have always been interested in uncovering the "why?" --- the Motive. I have always been curious what drives our fellow man to be so incredibly deviant. It does intrigue me, but it also scares me at the same time; much like watching a horror movie...

Unfortunately, I realized the humanity involved; or thought about it more after Columbine happened. This was one year after I had graduated High School. I will never, ever forget what I saw that day and I still have nightmares of being chased down a corridor by men in trench coats with shotguns. When CB happened, I think I was finally old enough to truly grasp the barbarism, cruelty, and utter insanity of our fellow men... I mean, if I had lived a couple miles in a different direction and didn't skip a grade, I could have been in Columbine.

I still haven't been able to go watch a movie after 7/20... I clearly have had GAD my entire life also so I have always been the hypersensitive sort, but I was terrified when little Jessica went missing.

And then they linked the suspect to the jogger incident on Memorial Day; so, it was obvious that there really was a loose cannon/murder near us. And the fact that I might "fit" his "profile" I grew up, for the first 10 years of my life, almost exactly 10 blocks from where Jessica's remains were found... I remember playing on my street and a mile away at the park with my friends and I could never imagine being a parent now, and being a child then and being scared to go past my front yard.

I just want to say, I don't know why some utterly horrible and horrific things have happened here in my Beautiful home state of Colorado. It almost makes me a little embarrassed because of it's infamy. It really is such a beautiful place, mostly filled with the most amazingly gracious and nice people...

Ultimately, just beginning with the latest atrocities; I wouldn't even know where to start. I don't know if anyone could have done anything to prevent these things; but everyone's hindsight is 20/20... I do believe in Evil; but I also know there is more to all of these acts of terror than that. Genetics, Abuse, young brains which frontal lobes that haven't fully formed, mental illness, just plain deviance, lack of personal and or parental insight... I don't know, it may be a combination of things.

I think I might "feel" a little safer on a forum like this, to know and maybe learn what to look for, or just to offer my opinions... Sometimes, it just helps to get it out, and know you're not alone in your feelings...

Sorry for the longest post in the history of the world, I just wanted to share a bit of perspective from a CO Native and what it feels like to live here and be here.

I'm in Colorado too and have lived here most of my life now, and I can fully understand your sentiments about our state. It's much more than the the sum total of the awful crimes we've seen here. When the High Park and Waldo Fires occurred, Coloradans exemplified the ultimate spirit of community and compassion toward the victims, both human and animal. Even the open space where little Jessica's remains were found is a reflection of the raw and rugged beauty of Colorado. If her killer thinks he pulled something off by "dumping" her in that space, he is, in my opinion, trumped by Nature who is far more masterful than he can ever hope to be..

 

[human]

I didn't say infants are born "evil". I said sociopaths are hard-wired. "Evil' is, in my view, a separate philosophical topic.

I reserve the idea of 'no one is perfect' for the human frailties the rest of us can all expect to encounter or exhibit ourselves in the journey of simply being human.

There is, in my view, a difference between personal defensiveness and a practical understanding that we cannot identify, "treat", and forgive sociopathic offenders hard enough to get to them view the world through our preferred lens.

Personally, I see a phenomenon in modern culture that says we can fix everything and eliminate horror and suffering from this world, when we cannot.

Forgiving this killer is a spiritual issue. Understanding what he is, based on his demonstrated record, and learning from that, is practical matter for society. Parents in Colorado are not as loosey-goosey with their kids walking to school alone. Kids aren't playing in parks and riding bikes without supervision as much as they were. And the public is grasping that not all child abductors are leering 40 and 50 year old males who look creepy. I suspect the police are re-considering their profile perceptions as well.

Since nothing has eliminated sociopaths from the human population no matter how hard we study the aftermath of their heinous activities, I think the awakening we've all had can be used for the increased safety of the public. That's what functional people do - they move on to extracting something helpful from the tragedy. Sociopaths, on the other hand, really don't care because the tragedy was all about them in the first place. JMO

It is not clear from my post because I have been going on and on about taking care of business at the front end instead of spending billions on prison, therapy, etc etc etc because people don't know how to be parents and people don't know how not to be bullies and so on.

In no way am I saying that AS should not be locked up forever and a day.

I meant that people are being so strange about me saying that parents, etc need training that all I can assume is that they are being defensive about something personal in their lives.

Yesterday is gone. Today is a new day of a new life for us all.

 

[Knox]

http://www.kgw.com/video?id=175665481&sec=547977&ref=rcvidmod

Clint: Because of my faith, I know I'll see her again.

Gulp, big lump in my throat.

 

[elmomom]

he was adopted and felt shamed and rejected b/c of this. he thought his birth mother died giving birth to him. he had guilt and anger due to that.
not a happy childhood.

That is not a bad or violent childhood. That is describing emotional problems that were already manifesting themselves in childhood. The fact is, it wasn't violent, abusive, or any other type of pathology that could trigger an underlying genetic propensity for violence. The fact is, he had a mental defect, he was born with it, and it is apparent in the way he describes irrational fears and emotions in his childhood.
The point I am trying to make is that it be cannot claimed that all psychopathic killers have been triggered by a violent or abusive childhood.

 

[iamnotagolem]

It is not clear from my post because I have been going on and on about taking care of business at the front end instead of spending billions on prison, therapy, etc etc etc because people don't know how to be parents and people don't know how not to be bullies and so on.

In no way am I saying that AS should not be locked up forever and a day.

I meant that people are being so strange about me saying that parents, etc need training that all I can assume is that they are being defensive about something personal in their lives.

Yesterday is gone. Today is a new day of a new life for us all.

I agree, we can't change the past, but we can change the future. My husband and I have had to make some changes in our parenting when our daughter started being mouthy and exhibiting inappropriate behavior. More time outs, more apologies, more talks about how we should behave and why we behave that way. She is much better now, it does take work on the parents part and children can change their behavior, they just need to be shown how.

 

[Just Pat 22]

So since police are returning donated reward money, that suggests the person who called the tip in on Sunday did not help lead to the arrest - otherwise they would have gotten the reward. MOO

AS ' s Mother turned AS in he confessed to her. A good Mother did the right thing.Called the Police as soon as he told her . Prayers for poor inocent Jessica ;( what evil lurkes out there for the poor innocent Children.





Prayers for Elixabeth and Lyric the missing cousins missing since July 13th 2012

 

[EmilyB]

Wish someone from Standley Lake HS or Warren Tech could confirm if the physics class room in one of the youtube videos belong to one of those schools. It looks pretty identifiable with the neon "physics is phun" and it shows the teacher in the room.

I'm just really curious.

 

[mysterygirl]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...vqvZwGobrwofDMI9w&sig2=Mu1auTcCoJXMS4ZBu1kHig

Child of Rage. This scared me to death when I saw it.

An older pic of her...(Child of Rage Beth Thomas)

http://www.childrenintherapy.org/proponents/thomasb.html

 

[smh]

Oh, it's all good. Schools like that are viewed differently in different regions, obviously. Where I grew up, it was called a "middle college" and the kids who were struggling (whether socially or academically) went to these instead of dropping out and usually did really well. Like I said, I was basing my comment off what one of the kids who knew AS said in the news. I didn't mean that AS had behavioral or emotional problems, but he might have seen this as a way to get away from some of the bullying while studying something that interested him. He may have been a different person entirely at Warren Tech.

Well, I obviously think AS has emotional and behavioral problems...just didn't want to stereotype all the Warren Tech kiddos as such.

 

[borndem]

If anyone has a floorplan sketch of the house (hand sketch, realtor sketch) ... that they could send me in a PM, I'll build a scale model. Clearly something happened in the house, and having a 3D model may make it easier for us to visualize how the suspect could have done what he did without being detected by anyone else that lived in the house.

No floorplan, otto, but I do know what an amazing job you can do with even a sketchy one! I do think it would help us understand the layout much better.

Here in NC, we have two types of multilevel houses: a split foyer, which has two distinct floors; the foyer has stairs going down, usually to the bedrooms & family room or garage, and the top floor which has the LR, DR, kitchen, possibly MBR or study. A split-level here has three levels. The foyer (mid-level) gives way to the LR, DR, kitchen. Go down a half-flight, and there is a family room with, often, an additional bedroom, workroom, office, etc. Go up a half flight from the mid-level, and it presents the bedrooms. These houses are usually built on lots that have an uneven layout, left to right, thereby making this type building very practical.

 

[AstroKitty]

Jessica's body was found at about 2pm on Oct. 10 and removed around 9:30 pm that night. The body was confirmed as being Jessica on Oct, 12.
But even before that, we all knew it had to be her.

Good break down! Thank you. that makes things easier to understand. I agree, we all knew it

 

[Just K]

no problem. this info abt the community college background check was on one of our local news channels on Weds, but I've been unable to track it down again to quote it. there's just too many news videos from that day.

That policy is on the school/department's webpage

 

[Kat]

If anyone has a floorplan sketch of the house (hand sketch, realtor sketch) ... that they could send me in a PM, I'll build a scale model. Clearly something happened in the house, and having a 3D model may make it easier for us to visualize how the suspect could have done what he did without being detected by anyone else that lived in the house.

Let me look and see if that county in CO has their real estate assessments and/or tax payments online otto.

Sometimes floor plans or details about home are listed on those sites (which I know you probably already know) but i'll go look. Give me a few.