CO - Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct 2012 - #19

[GrainneDhu]

I know in advance that I am going to get attacked....

This is a terrible event that has happened and this young man has committed a horrible and unthinkable crime, for which he must pay a dear price that will never bring sweet Jessica back. He has hurt so people....its immeasurable.

But still, reading his history, I feel compassion for him. I suppose this is what separates us from violent people. We can allow our hearts to break in appropriate ways.....

I absolutely agree.

So, anyone who throws stones at Shefner might as well heave some my way as well.

 

[T4Tide]

And although it might be mere coincidence, it is interesting to note that our perp indeed had a name that starts with "A."

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Hi Peeps!

I have been reading for hours.. trying to catch up... just finished thread 18...

And my head is about to 'esplode without being able to post any comments...

So... please bear with me as I share some random observations, comments, and questions...

1. Could the chemical that AS used on the jogger, and possibly on Jessica, be formaldehyde?

2.) Why do you think that AS chose the location he did to place Jessica's backpack? (Outside the fact that he was probably trying to get LE off of his tail.) Do we have linked information connecting him to this community?

3.) There is a prevailing sentiment in these threads that it is shocking that such a heinous crime could be enacted by someone at such a young age as AS... 17 years old. I wonder if, statistically, this is not so very abnormal if we are to look at records dating many years ago...

We may be basing our perceptions on murders of the last 3/4 of the 1900's to the present where life expectancy has increased.. and media has become more accessible to broader sections of society.

17 years old was an expected age of getting married... starting a family... not so very long ago.

Maybe the blip in statistics is actually our own short-sighted experience with such information.

All just something to think about...

And by the way... I think I have embraced a new buzzword...GranneDhu was explaining the 2 counts of murder AS is charged with as "weirdities" of this states legal system!

"Weirdities.....LOVE IT! :great:

Thank you for letting me un-load before I ex-plode! ::smile:

Carry on! :seeya:

 

[Rougelatete]

JR, who took Psychology 101 and Biology 111 with Sigg at Arapahoe, said he seemed "very charming and very intellectual."

She said after Jessica Ridgeway disappeared, Sigg began to miss classes, but eventually returned. On Tuesday, she talked with him about a biology lab paper that was due on the topic of diffusion and osmosis.

"Nothing seemed out of the ordinary," R said.
-----------------------------

When M presented a paper on anti-social personality disorder, Sigg seemed particularly intrigued that she used serial killer Ted Bundy as a case study. As Miller explained how Bundy had no empathy for his victims, she noticed Sigg chuckling to himself.

"He was so lit up about what I was saying," Miller recalled. "He was asking about it. He was intrigued. It was almost like he was excited about it.

"He said he was intrigued by dead bodies," she added. "There was something creepy about him."

Thanks, Wondergirl! This all supports my theory of AS having features of antisocial personality disorder (APD) and being of above-average intelligence. His apparent juvenile record would also support this theory, as persons with APD often have arrest/conviction records. The classmate's use of the word "charming" is also an indicator....despite their social isolation and idiosyncratic behaviors, persons with APD are often described as "charming". There is a prevalent belief that APD has an underlying genetic component that may be set off by environmental, social, and situational factors.

 

[Yellow]

Though the ridgeway family can never get closure, I do hope the arrest gives some amount of peace to Sara and Jeremiah. I hope that AS will continue to do the right thing and not put the family through a trial and to torture them and the community with details of his horrid crime.

I hope that AS is telling the truth as well about JR being killed shortly after the kidnapping. This is the most unusual crime because it seems like he did it more for the joy of killing rather than a pedophile type motive. I guess in time we will find out where the strangling took place. Perhaps he tied her up, then drove to his home and did the act in her driveway? It just is so bizarre....

I hope the community has some compassion for the brother as well. Kids can be so mean and I cannot imagine how the poor brother can go back to school. The mother too. Think of how she must feel when she goes back to work, etc. AS destroyed two families here.

 

[Ransom]

I was going to give a link and it turned out to be one for Pork Fried Rice. Ugh. Going to bed.fftobed:

 

[MidwestMama]

Not to be a downer as the community is feeling the relief tonight. Rightfully so and much deserved. I do hope LE and the community remains hypervigilant, not only with Halloween coming up and the apparent rash of similar incidents in Colorado. Copycat or not. We've seen there are sick people who come out to take advantage of vulnerable communities who are on edge and there are also just sick people who prey anyhow. LE must be exhausted and they need TLC but I'm concerned nonetheless.
Unfortunately I think it's the new necessary everywhere, for children, women, and yes even men to be on constant alert. We owe it to the Jessica's to learn all we can from tragedies like this to figure out what to do better .. Personally in the few days since I've joined WS I've read so many comments and ideas that I NEVER would've thought on my own. There will always be fear but turning that into empowerment is the only option.

ITA. We should continue to be more vigilant in watching our children AND any child!

 

[Peter Brendt]

There are still other things, I don't get. He chose Jessica. Why? How, he must have seen her. The window, he had to snatch her was pretty small, so was he just lucky or was he prepared? And then the story about the backpack. Shall I believe, he just drove around and accidentally dropped the backpack near to a registered sex offender's place?

 

[cakegirl0905]

Wow
The girlfriend in the news tonight: "I will always have a place for him in my heart" and "you're not a bad guy, you just did a bad thing". I pray to God her parents will get her in some serious therapy. If she really feels that way, she needs help in determining what a good man is. :-/. Bless her heart.

 

[scadder21]

Someone had a map where it's possible that he took a back trail and walked with the backpack.

 

[Madeleine74]

Not to me ... nothing KNOWN. You said it so much better than me:
Quote:
"I always hope lessons will be learned that highlight it's important to not start pointing fingers when a crime occurs and facts are not known."

Good quote from you. Words to live by.

My conscience is clear on all accounts; I'm good.

 

[pearl]

SBM

I don't believe in some supernatural force or being that causes humans (or any other critter) to harm others. I believe it is all driven by human decisions, partly collectively and partly individually.

As for choice, I am in the middle on it. I believe that all humans make choices every single day that are shaped by both their inherent nature and by their background. How much of each choice is truly free of any other influence or coercion is difficult for me to discern.

I feel incredibly fortunate that none of my passions or desires are hugely illegal (since I can't drive, I can admit that if there wasn't a patrol car in sight, it's safe to say I was speeding!). What would it be like to be someone who had a desire or passion for something that is illegal? It's easy for me to say "I would never murder someone" because I have no desire to do so.

Then I think "if chocolate were illegal, I'd be an outlaw." From being diabetic for nearly 20 years and having successfully kept my A1C below 6% (normal level for non-diabetics), I know what a struggle it is to keep my blood glucose levels under control.

Sure, I choose to keep struggling but there have been times when I just want to give up. Just want to eat the damn chocolate!!!

I don't know, I feel like I'm stumbling around on trying to explain what I mean. I hope you can glean some sort of actual meaning from my rambling.

Maybe it is best to leave it that I am enjoined to feel and show compassion for all and even though I often fail, I keep trying to attain that goal.

bbm--Congratulations to you for being able to do this.. May I ask how? I would love some advice on this as mine is inching up lately. This makes you one of my heroes since you have done this so long.

I do believe that evil walks the earth among us every day. I have met a couple of people who for some unknown reason just seem to radiate an aura of evil. Being in education for so long, I am well versed in the nature/nuture debate. Do I think these people have a demonic possession? No, I don't. They just made the hairs on the back of my neck shiver for no apparent reason, a primative response for lack of a better word. I have several former students who are serving life without parole for murder. I did not get a sense of evilness from any of them just bad choices. I can't think of any term other than evil for the feeling I had when meeting the ones I mentioned first.

 

[Marilynilpa]

I know in advance that I am going to get attacked....

This is a terrible event that has happened and this young man has committed a horrible and unthinkable crime, for which he must pay a dear price that will never bring sweet Jessica back. He has hurt so people....its immeasurable.

But still, reading his history, I feel some compassion for him. I suppose this is what separates us from violent people. We can look at allow our hearts to break in appropriate ways.....

I feel compassion for him as well. IMO life as he knew it is over forever. True, he made decisions that were horribly wrong and he has destroyed lives beyond anything he can probably imagine.

But I know at some point he was simply a little boy, before he turned into the sick killer he is today. He wasn't born that way, IMO. I believe there had to be signs along the way that were either overlooked or explained away as just being his personality. JMO.

None of what I've said is meant to minimize what he has done - there is no excusing what he has done.

 

[Wondergirl]

Austin Sigg Standley Lake 2011 Yearbook (credit: CBS)

LG attended school with Sigg since middle school.

“There was always something wrong with him. He was always one of the kids in the class who was really smart, but he would be by himself,” G said. “He’d talk to himself and just act really awkward around people

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/10/24/austin-sigg-told-police-where-to-find-human-remains/

 

[thess]

I would respectfully propose that there's a difference between trying to find the components that went into the making of a killer, and excusing them. (Somewhat said it earlier: reasons are not excuses--but that doesn't stop us being curious about the reasons. It's human nature to try to make sense of the chaos. And acknowledging that bullying is bad (and a growing problem with the advent of social media) doesn't mean his actions are considered excused.)

 

[tlcya]

I don't know about his connection to Anime but my teenager loves Anime. He is also considered weird, different and quiet to his peers. He really doesn't have many friends, either. And he is a huge gamer...

I guess it is frustrating to me to read the post about AS being a loner and outsider who liked gaming so that must be why he turned into a killer because that means there is something terribly wrong with him. It makes me think people are going to look at my kid a little funny for now on.

My son has Asperger's which accounts for some of his quirky behaviors but there is a lot of other kids out there who are described in that way and they don't harm anyone.

I know it's silly for me to be bothered by it but I can't help it.

I haven't really commented much on the anime gamer aspect of this case because to me its not a factor in what made AS do what he's done. I, and those posters who are discussing it, don't hold the opinion that his liking of anime or gaming are indicators of a disturbed or murderous psyche. Rather they see them as indicators of his aloneness, his distancing himself from others and simply additional indicators for this individual.

Anime, gaming, violent movies,music,tc do not ceate monsters, they simply allow an already disturbed individual to hide within fantasy and avoid th real life rlationships and consequences that come with being a part od reality.

Great escapism for most, but for an already disturbed,disjointed mind they could hold a dfiferent apeal and affect.

Autism and asperbergers specifically, are much beter understood nowadays than in the past. I don't think you need worry about anyone labelling your son as a future killer, or weird or creepy.

 

[cluciano63]

I don't know about his connection to Anime but my teenager loves Anime. He is also considered weird, different and quiet to his peers. He really doesn't have many friends, either. And he is a huge gamer...

I guess it is frustrating to me to read the post about AS being a loner and outsider who liked gaming so that must be why he turned into a killer because that means there is something terribly wrong with him. It makes me think people are going to look at my kid a little funny for now on.

My son has Asperger's which accounts for some of his quirky behaviors but there is a lot of other kids out there who are described in that way and they don't harm anyone.

I know it's silly for me to be bothered by it but I can't help it.

We don't know what else was going on with this suspect's life, or in his mind, but we will probably keep learning more bits and pieces that will show that his mind was not working in any way similar to just a quiet teen who enjoys video games and spends time alone. I hate to think you are feeling sad about your son.

 

[thess]

bbm--Congratulations to you for being able to do this.. May I ask how? I would love some advice on this as mine is inching up lately. This makes you one of my heroes since you have done this so long.

OT and IMO, but having lost about 80lbs I'd recommend the works of Gary Taubes to anyone who is diabetic (particularly type II) or struggling badly with obesity.

 

[MidwestMama]

I was going to give a link and it turned out to be one for Pork Fried Rice. Ugh. Going to bed.fftobed:

:floorlaugh:Yum!:floorlaugh:

 

[prima.facie]

Do they take DNA on all criminals regardless of crime in Colorado?????

Ive been so busy today. what a crappy day to have such a long "to do list". ugh. im so far behind, so many posts that i feel i will never catch up on...

im not sure if this is answered, but just in case it has not been...

colorado has "Katie's law"....all felony ARRESTS have their DNA taken....if no felony conviction, their DNA is removed from the database...

here is more info...

http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/104115628.html

"Katie's Law" Goes Into Effect in Colorado

Starting today, Law enforcement agencies from across the state will be required to collect DNA Samples from anyone arrested for a felony.

Colorado is the 18th state to adopt this law. It's called "Katie's Law" and is named after Katie Sepich, whose brutal rape and murder in New Mexico was solved with the help of DNA evidence.


http://thecoloradoobserver.com/2012/06/tipton-makes-push-to-enact-katies-law/

--------

and let me tell you...THAT law is even being used in campaign ads for local politicians because about a dozen or so in the state voted against it.

anyways, i apologize if this is redundant...just wanted to make sure it was answered!