CO - Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct. 2012 - #23

[TurtlefootK]

My house was built in the mid 90s and has wood doors - we have a garage door opener, it opens on a metal track.

Ours too

 

[csziggy]

although I'm sure someone else can easily read all of the floorplan I can identify a few features like the spiral staircase, the fireplace and what I believe is the sliding glass door under the deck on the level 2 image. But I don't see a window represented in the image of the area under the deck.

In a 120 sq. ft. room there would not be a lot of space for windows.

120 sq.ft. = 10x12' A sliding glass door is 5-6' wide (standard is 6' but 5' ones are available. So roughly half of one exterior wall is already taken by that door. There would be a door or opening on the interior wall to access the stairs to the living room/kitchen level of the house. Maybe another door on the wall opposite the sliding glass door to connect to the garage.

From the location of the chimney if my guess previously posted that the furnace would vent through it, the equipment/utility room would be on the outside corner so the fourth wall of the downstairs room would not have an exterior wall and might have a door into the utility room.

In a room that small the sliding glass door would give plenty of light so a window is not really needed.

The mention before about access to outside via a window well being required by code may only be true if the room is intended for use as a bedroom. When we were building our house we had to make sure every bedroom had access through either a door to the outside or through a window that had to meet a certain size specification. For one bedroom that meant having to get larger windows than our original design to meet code.

I don't know building codes for Colorado or for basements, though.

 

[DylansMom34]

This facebook picture...who is the lady who posted it (is she some sort of relative or acquaintance of AS). And what is the date/setting, do you know?

 

[Salem]

This facebook picture...who is the lady who posted it (is she some sort of relative or acquaintance of AS). And what is the date/setting, do you know?

The facebook picture is NOT ALLOWED. It contains the pictures of several MINORS that are not related to this case. Remember our rules for posting about minors - WE DON'T unless they are the victim or a NAMED suspect by LE.

Also Remember the social media rules:

Social Networks

Regarding Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other social networking or blog websites: Links may be used to direct posters to view something on a social networking page. But postings on social networking sites are not considered fact; they are rumor. Copying and pasting, or taking screen caps, directly from these pages is not allowed. Paraphrasing is okay. (Exception: If the Twitter or Facebook post belongs to a verified news station, it may be copied. But a link should still be provided.)

Also, social networking pages may only be linked if they are directly related to a case, i.e. the victim or suspect. We don't want to post to someone's mother, brother, employer, milkman, or postal carrier just because they know the main player. We also NEVER link to minor's pages (unless they are the victim). And be sure that the page actually belongs to the person being discussed. Do not link to someone if you are not 100% sure it is the correct person. And if a social networking is set to private and you get in the back way, you may not post what you find. Private means private!



Thanks!

Salem

 

[EmilyB]

I noticed that too. 120 square feet are "officially" developed in the basement ... and the home owner may have made changes ... it may now be 600 square feet ... hard to say. It violates firecode, but Austin may have spent a lot of time in the basement area of the house.

But if an unfinished basement is put in a house during building, aren't they required to include so many windows/wells at that time? All the houses in my CO neighborhood came with unfinished basements but there were windows and wells already built in for the owner to finish if they wanted.

In a split level house like AS's, the basement area is only so big, so it may have only required one window. I just don't see a basement being built and no windows included if it is a code issue. Unless the code was different in 1971?

If there is no window down there, it is "uninhabitable" technically and whatever sq footage or rooms/bedrooms can't be included in the total sq footage or total bedroom/room count. Just some ideas!

 

[TnVolsFan]

In a 120 sq. ft. room there would not be a lot of space for windows.

120 sq.ft. = 10x12' A sliding glass door is 5-6' wide (standard is 6' but 5' ones are available. So roughly half of one exterior wall is already taken by that door. There would be a door or opening on the interior wall to access the stairs to the living room/kitchen level of the house. Maybe another door on the wall opposite the sliding glass door to connect to the garage.

From the location of the chimney if my guess previously posted that the furnace would vent through it, the equipment/utility room would be on the outside corner so the fourth wall of the downstairs room would not have an exterior wall and might have a door into the utility room.

In a room that small the sliding glass door would give plenty of light so a window is not really needed.

The mention before about access to outside via a window well being required by code may only be true if the room is intended for use as a bedroom. When we were building our house we had to make sure every bedroom had access through either a door to the outside or through a window that had to meet a certain size specification. For one bedroom that meant having to get larger windows than our original design to meet code.

I don't know building codes for Colorado or for basements, though.

Just jumping off your post here...

I know I keep referring to my childhood friends house but the floor plans are SO very similar (there were only a handful of plans in that neighborhood)--

Their basement wasn't built as a bedroom just originally the utility room-consisting of the hot water heater, washer, dryer and utility sink, the room that housed the furnace/AC unit and some space that his folks turned into a game/play room for the kids. There were only a couple of windows; one being in the laundry room and one being on the side of the house that we often don't see of AS's house (right side from the road). Granted his house was on a small knoll and might have afforded more 'placement' for windows as it was not completely underground.

If you were standing at the base of the basement stairs and looking at the staircase- to the right on the wall at the back of the stairs was the crawlspace door (we NEVER opened it) but it's placed under the ground floor and would be under the fireplace-- the laundry room was on the rear wall (under the kitchen) and the ac/furnace room to the left of the staircase (partly under the garage), the rest was essentially empty space. (under the dining room and part of the living room)

There was no access to the backyard via the basement- the only way to access the basement was via the door from the ground floor opposite the garage entrance to the house.

It would be easy to access the basement w/out anyone noticing if you slipped thru the garage and quickly opened the basement door as you were shutting the garage entrance- then head downstairs.

I have to say this case has brought to mind so many memories of that neighborhood and the houses there... still disturbs me to think I used to roam that neighborhood w/out a care in the world-- granted it was 15-20 yrs before AS was even born but still...

:moo::moo::moo:

 

[EmilyB]

In a 120 sq. ft. room there would not be a lot of space for windows.

120 sq.ft. = 10x12' A sliding glass door is 5-6' wide (standard is 6' but 5' ones are available. So roughly half of one exterior wall is already taken by that door. There would be a door or opening on the interior wall to access the stairs to the living room/kitchen level of the house. Maybe another door on the wall opposite the sliding glass door to connect to the garage.

From the location of the chimney if my guess previously posted that the furnace would vent through it, the equipment/utility room would be on the outside corner so the fourth wall of the downstairs room would not have an exterior wall and might have a door into the utility room.

In a room that small the sliding glass door would give plenty of light so a window is not really needed.

The mention before about access to outside via a window well being required by code may only be true if the room is intended for use as a bedroom. When we were building our house we had to make sure every bedroom had access through either a door to the outside or through a window that had to meet a certain size specification. For one bedroom that meant having to get larger windows than our original design to meet code.

I don't know building codes for Colorado or for basements, though.

The sliding glass door is to provide access to the pool area from the ground level family room.

The 120 sq ft that we are trying to find a window for is in the basement. Hope that makes more sense!

 

[otto]

Could you give me a first name? A quick google on Baumgartner murder is all about a member of a gang that robbed an armored truck in Alberta Canada and killed three of the security guards. Doesn't seem to fit your comment above.

Okay, so I had most of the details wrong, like the name and place (sorry about that), but not the fact that he gradually hunted and buried remains closer to home. Originally he left bodies along work routes, but eventually he buried victims in his back yard.

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20143096,00.html

 

[foxbluff]

Maybe someone with a sword collection was trying one out. :moo:

IMHO, if both halves of the poor little cat were found together then "someone" was responsible for the killing rather than a traditional wild animal.

 

[Just K]

Absolutely he stalked her, even if it was just for one day.

I do wonder if he saw her one afternoon walking alone and followed her home.

Went and did a drive by one morning...or maybe every morning for a week.

There is also a good chance that she was not the only one he was watching, in my opinion.

:sick:

The start time for the middle school is likely earlier than the elementary school start time. So, it is possible that he would drop his brother off and drive back through the neighborhoods actually casing out where the kids were that walked alone. IMO, he was driving in the opposite direction, when he saw Jessica, and made a u-turn to come up behind her. He probably felt like there was less of a chance of a neighbor recognizing him if he was on her side of the school than if he grabbed a kid from his side/neighborhood.

 

[GrainneDhu]

Okay, so I had most of the details wrong, like the name and place (sorry about that), but not the fact that he gradually hunted and buried remains closer to home. Originally he left bodies along work routes, but eventually he buried victims in his back yard.

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20143096,00.html

I wish he hadn't shot himself because there's a certain tendency after a serial killer dies to try to tie as many cold cases to that person as possible. I'm not saying that happened with Herb Baumeister but it is something to consider.

According to the article in wikipedia:

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_profiling"]Geographic profiling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Geographic profiling model is based on the assumption that offender’s are more likely to select their victims and commit a crime which would be centered near their home address. The technique has now spread to several U.S., Canadian, British, and European law enforcement agencies. Originally designed for violent crime investigations, it is increasingly being used on property crime.

Through numerous research studies, there has been an increased importance placed on the journeys offenders habitually take to determine the spatial range of criminal activity. These areas become a comfort zone for predatory offenders to commit their crime with a feeling of safety. Consequently, criminal acts follow a distance-decay function, such that the further away the regular activity space of an offender is, the less likely that the person will engage in a predatory criminal activity. However, there is also a buffer zone where an offender will avoid committing crimes too close to their homes in the likely event that they will be identified by a neighbour.[3]

If I am interpreting the above correctly, most (not all; there are always exceptions) perps have a ring shaped area on a map that shows where their crime comfort zone exists. There's a hole in the middle where the perp's actual home is and then there's a ring where the perp is most likely to commit a crime and finally, the comfort zone ends and the perp is unlikely to offend beyond that outer boundary.

Sigg may be an exception. I don't think there's enough evidence yet to determine whether he is or not.

 

[csziggy]

The sliding glass door is to provide access to the pool area from the ground level family room.

The 120 sq ft that we are trying to find a window for is in the basement. Hope that makes more sense!

Ah - I keep thinking that the area under the garage is the basement! :blushing:

I live in Florida where there are very few basements. Usually the ground water level is too high to build one and keep it dry. Plus, we don't have to have as deep of foundations since we don't have to worry about the ground freezing - that is one reason in cold climates a basement and/or a deep crawl space is cost effective. Where the ground freezes you have to go deep with the foundation.

 

[otto]

Ah - I keep thinking that the area under the garage is the basement! :blushing:

I live in Florida where there are very few basements. Usually the ground water level is too high to build one and keep it dry. Plus, we don't have to have as deep of foundations since we don't have to worry about the ground freezing - that is one reason in cold climates a basement and/or a deep crawl space is cost effective. Where the ground freezes you have to go deep with the foundation.

The area under the garage is the 4' wall height crawl space. In regions where there is permafrost, a basement depth of 4' is required in the house. Since the house is a four level split, half of the total square footage of the bottom level of the house has 4' walls (crawl space) and the other half has normal height walls. There appears to be one window in the basement. There may have been additional windows that were removed during renovations ... normally, I wouldn't expect this to happen, but given Austin's fathers' long criminal record and disrespect for law, I think it could have happened with this house.

For example

 

[EmilyB]

The area under the garage is the 4' wall height crawl space. In regions where there is permafrost, a basement depth of 4' is required in the house. Since the house is a four level split, half of the total square footage of the bottom level of the house has 4' walls (crawl space) and the other half has normal height walls. There appears to be one window in the basement. There may have been additional windows that were removed during renovations ... normally, I wouldn't expect this to happen, but given Austin's fathers' long criminal record and disrespect for law, I think it could have happened with this house.

For example

I've been meaning to ask you, but how do you know there are no basement windows on the right side (looking from the street) of the house? I'm not saying there are no pics of that side of the house, but I haven't seen them personally. I'm just really curious how you know about the lack of windows. Thanks!

 

[otto]

I've been meaning to ask you, but how do you know there are no basement windows on the right side (looking from the street) of the house? I'm not saying there are no pics of that side of the house, but I haven't seen them personally. I'm just really curious how you know about the lack of windows. Thanks!

I haven't seen any either.

 

[KaaBoom]

If I am interpreting the above correctly, most (not all; there are always exceptions) perps have a ring shaped area on a map that shows where their crime comfort zone exists. There's a hole in the middle where the perp's actual home is and then there's a ring where the perp is most likely to commit a crime and finally, the comfort zone ends and the perp is unlikely to offend beyond that outer boundary.

Sigg may be an exception. I don't think there's enough evidence yet to determine whether he is or not.

"Comfort zone" is the wrong term I believe. It should be "convenience zone". If he was driving his family's car, obviously he didn't have time to be driving all over the state looking for a victim. He had to choose locations close by his house, that he could get to, and get back home in a few minuets. So as to not attract suspicion of his family

Even the abandoned coal mine where he dumped her body is only 7.5 miles from his house. He could have taken care of that, and been back home in a half hour.

I have no doubt this would have been the start for a serial killer. Once he was independent and had his own car, of course he would have branched out and looked for victim farther away.

 

[johan555]

weird cross

http://watchingeagle.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/austin-sigg-vicarious-sacrifice-and-the-cross/

 

[johan555]

Man attempts to abduct 3 boys using handgun in north Denver

http://kdvr.com/2012/11/02/man-attempts-to-abduct-3-boys-using-handgun-in-north-denver/

 

[EmilyB]

I haven't seen any either.

Oh, okay. You said, "There's probably a basement window below the kitchen window ... but there are no windows on the right side of the house, and there should be at least one for evacuation."

I didn't know if you had seen the other side of the house somewhere to confirm that. If you had, I was just curious if there was a pic of that side of the house somewhere. So, it's just speculation that there is only one window under the kitchen and no where else around the side of the house?

:waitasec:

 

[KaaBoom]

The area under the garage is the 4' wall height crawl space. In regions where there is permafrost, a basement depth of 4' is required in the house. Since the house is a four level split, half of the total square footage of the bottom level of the house has 4' walls (crawl space) and the other half has normal height walls.

JFYI, there is no permafrost in Colorado. The reasons many houses have basements, is simply to have a place the put the furnace and ductwork.

Houses built on permafrost do not have basements. They are built entirely above ground. Again you wouldn't find that anywhere in Colorado.