No One Heard Her SCREAMS for Help- The Story of Jessica Ridgeway

Late Wednesday night, police announced a body had been found near a park in the Denver suburb of Arvvada. At this point, they won’t officially confirm it is 10-year-old Jessica Rididgeway, but multiple police sources tell ABC News they believe it is the girl’s body. The fifth grader was last seen Friday morning as she headed out for her short walk to school.

 Welcome or welcome back and thanks for being here. I’m Cassie and this is a Wicked World. The story I have for you today is about a 10-year-old little girl who went missing on her short walk to school. When she was finally found weeks later, the situation was even more horrifying than anyone could have imagined.

 This is the story of Jessica Rididgeway. Jessica Christine Rididgeway was born on January 23rd, 2002 to her mother, Sarah Rididgeway, and her father, Jeremiah Bryant. She was a caring, helpful, kind, curious, loving, and creative little girl. Jessica loved to invent dances, giggle at words she made up, and hum to melodies. Her favorite color was purple.

She loved all Disney films and also the song Call Me Maybe by Carly Ray Jeepson. One of Jessica’s favorite things to do was cheer, and she was on the Pee-Wee cheerleading team. She also loved animals and had multiple pets, including two fish, two frogs, and a dog. 10-year-old Jessica’s parents had split up when she was young.

 Her father lived in Missouri, and Jessica lived primarily with her mother, Sarah, at their home in Westminster, Colorado. On the morning of Friday, October 5th, 2012, around 8:35, Jessica left her house and began walking to school, which was a little under a mile away. This was something she did every day. And on her way to Wit Elementary School, Jessica would normally meet friends at the park, which was about 5 minutes from her home.

But that morning, she didn’t make it to the park or to school. At 10:00 a.m., when officials at the elementary school were made aware of Jessica’s absence, they called up her mother to let her know, but they had to leave a voicemail because Sarah was sleeping as she had worked the overnight shift the night prior.

 So, she didn’t get the message until 4:30 that afternoon, at which point she called the police. An Amber Alert was then issued for 10-year-old Jessica, and an extensive search began. It would continue on for days during which time police collected over 500 DNA samples and they along with residents canvased various neighborhoods.  Sarah Rididgeway told police she was sleeping after working the graveyard shift at a tech company and didn’t hear the call.

 By the time she got the voicemail message, eight critical hours had passed. The idea that she could be eight hours in another direction put the police way behind in figuring out where this child might be.  By Saturday, more than 800 volunteers turned out to help find Jessica, scouring fields and hillsides.  They gave us some descriptions of what the little girl was wearing.

 And  so that’s what we’re kind of trying to find.  Police brought in teams of scent tracking dogs to search the family’s neighborhood. They looked in everything, you know, washers, dryers, you found this girl, that’s the main concern.  They found nothing.  Jessica’s mother, Sarah, was fully cooperating with authorities, and she was soon cleared as a suspect.

 The little girl’s father, Jeremiah, who had some past issues with paying child support, was questioned, too. But he had an alibi in Missouri that police were able to verify.  You know, maybe they made us mistake and she’s at the park playing with her friend. So I pass the park and you know you have that little bit of hope.

 Then I go to her friends and her friends not answering and you kind of lose a little more hope. You go to the school and you know they’re not nobody, you know, had seen her and you lost a little bit more hope and you go to a friend’s house and still you don’t hear anything. And then you get the pit in your stomach that you don’t want any any parent any parent to to ever experience in their whole entire life. for you to your child.

 It’s just been taken. That is not ever ever anything I want ever any parent to go through. [sighs] When authorities searched Jessica’s home, they found a notebook in her room lying on a desk that had some homework in it. On one page, Jessica had written, “Do not play at the park alone and watch out for strangers.” She was always very wary and careful of people she didn’t know, making detectives believe that maybe it was someone she had known who had taken her.

Then on the second day of their search, police would find Jessica’s backpack on a sidewalk in the Rock Creek neighborhood in Superior, about 6 and a half miles from her home. Inside were Jessica’s urine soaked clothes, a water bottle, and her purple eyelasses. This gave Jessica’s mother a glimmer of hope that maybe she was still alive somewhere.

 Police, on the other hand, believed that the backpack had been intentionally set where it was found with those specific items in it to make it clear that Jessica was dead. This theory would prove to be true, and a few days later on October 10th, the little girl’s partial remains were found. Her torso was discovered inside of two black bags at Patridge Park in Arvvada, Colorado.

 This was about 9 miles away from where Jessica lived. Her arms, legs, and head removed and were not found with the remainder of her body. Many of her internal organs had also been removed. And it appeared based on the lack of blood or blood spatter that she had been washed. A wooden cross measuring approximately an inch by an inch was additionally found to have been inserted into Jessica’s vagina.

Westminster police and Jefferson County prosecutors said it was one of the most horrific cases they had ever seen. Now that the search for Jessica had turned into a hunt for her killer, the FBI became involved and they even released a behavioral profile for the suspect. They said that the person they were looking for was likely male and might have recently missed work or left town.

 They stated that the individual might express an intense interest in the status of the investigation as well as pay close attention to the media. They asked the public to be on the lookout for anyone who was displaying any type of abnormal behavior. Investigators then began focusing on cell phone towers near Jessica’s home, near where her remains had been found, and near where her backpack was discovered.

 They figured that if a phone number registered at all three towers, it would lead them to a suspect. Hundreds of officers also continued to search fields, ravines, and neighborhoods near where Jessica’s torso was located. Male DNA was recovered from the girl’s body. And when investigators ran it through their database, they found that it matched DNA from an attempted kidnapping of an adult female jogger near Ker Lake earlier that year in May.

 The woman reported to authorities that a rag with a chemical odor had been placed over her face, but she was able to get away and call 911. She described the perpetrator as being a white or light-skinned male between the ages of 18 and 30 with wavy brown hair and standing approximately 5′ 8 in tall. However, even though investigators had taken hundreds of DNA samples at this point, they still didn’t have a match to what was found on Jessica.

Then a break came in the case on October 23rd, 2012 when a woman named Mindy Sig called 911 saying that her son had confessed to killing Jessica and wanted to turn himself in. Her son was 17-year-old Austin Sig and he also told his mother that some of Jessica’s remains were inside their house. During the 911 call, Austin would additionally admit to attacking the jogger back in May.

 Hi, this is Molly with Mr. Police. Can I help you?  Hi. Um, I need you to come to my house. Um, my son wants to turn himself in for the Jessica Ridgeway murder.  Can you tell me exactly what he said?  But he did it and he gave me details and her remains are in my house.  Did you see them?  No.  Is he there with you?  Yes.

 Is he cooperative?  Yes. What is your son’s name?  Austin.  Okay. I I understand that you’re probably, you know, feeling pretty crappy right now, but I want you to know that you did the right thing.  He He did it. He just wanted me to call. He He is turning himself in.  Okay.

 Do you think that he’s going to be cooperative with the officers?  Absolutely.  Okay. Do you think that Austin would talk to me?  Will you talk?  Yeah. Hold on. Okay.  Hello.  Is this Austin?  Yes, it is.  Hi, Austin. This is Molly at the Westminster Police Department.  Hi. Can you tell me a little bit about what’s going on right now or how you’re feeling or or how did this come about?  Uh I I I don’t exactly get why you’re asking these questions.

 I murdered Jessica Richway.  Okay.  There is I have proof that I did it. I There is no other question. You just have to send squad car something down here and I will answer all the questions that you want to ask  or anyone wants to ask of me as soon as you just you got to get down here.  Okay.

 Have you committed any crimes like this before?  Um I mean are do you have a criminal history of any sort? The only other thing that I have done that before this was the Katner Lake  incident where the woman got attacked. That was me.  Ma’am, um I understand you want to call your I understand you want to call your husband and I’m sorry, but I would like to keep you guys on the phone just until the officers get a little bit closer.

Well, how far are they? Um they’re going to be there in just a few minutes. Is Austin still there with you? Mhm. Yeah. I won’t let him out of my sight.  Okay. Has Austin been diagnosed with any mental health issues? Does he see a counselor or take any medications?  He saw a counselor um years ago for um porn.

Okay. I can’t breathe. Take some deep breaths for me. Do you want me to start you an ambulance?  No.  Are you sure? Go here.  Okay. What just happened?  I opened the window.  What’s that?  I just opened the window.  Okay. I need air.  Okay.  Mindy, take a couple deep breaths for me. Okay.

 You tell me when the officers get there. They’re coming to your front door.  Okay.  I don’t see them.  You don’t see them?  No. Is Austin okay with you right now?  Yeah, he’s just getting really anxious and so am I.  Okay.  Yeah, they’re they’re coming up.  They’re coming up to the door.  Yeah.  Okay.

 Do you see it? Do you see the plane clothes officers and their badges?  Yeah, they’re here.  Okay, I’ll let you go speak with them. Okay.  Okay.  Okay. Thank you.  Okay. Bye.  Goodbye. Once authorities arrived at Austin’s house, he would tell them exactly what he had done to Jessica. He said that on the morning that she disappeared, he had been waiting in his jeep near the park.

The park that was so close to Jessica’s home, you could see her front door from there. Austin said that when the little girl walked by, he jumped out of his vehicle and grabbed her. She’d screamed, but no one was around to hear her. Austin said that he had never met Jessica up until that day. After he pulled the little girl into the back seat, he tied her wrists and ankles with zip ties.

 Then Austin lied to Jessica and told her that everything was going to be okay. From there, the 10-year-old had been taken to Austin’s mother’s home, which was about a mile away. Here, he claimed that he cut off her zip ties, played some cartoons for her, and reassured her that she would see her mother again soon. Then Austin made Jessica change out of her urine soaked clothing and stuff it into her backpack.

 He gave her a white shirt and a pair of black shorts that he owned for her to wear. After a little while, Austin told Jessica to turn away from him and he initially tried to strangle her with zip ties. But when he couldn’t get enough leverage, he used his hands to kill her instead. Once she stopped moving, Austin picked up Jessica’s body and placed her in the bathtub. there.

 He held her head underwater just to make sure that she was gone. Then he dismembered her. At some point, he had also cut off all of Jessica’s hair. Initially, he had hidden the little girl’s remains in a pool shed behind his house. But once police began using cadaavver dogs, Austin got nervous and wrapped her torso up in a trash bag, then disposed of it.

 Jessica was dead before her mother even got a chance to call 911. Austin would tell authorities that he had placed the 10-year-old’s backpack in a nearby neighborhood in an attempt to divert them away from searching his house. He’d also thrown the coat that she was wearing away in a random trash can. Austin admitted that he had been consumed by a sexual drive when he kidnapped Jessica, but maintained that he did not sexually assault her.

 However, he would later admit that he did in fact assault her. When authorities searched through Austin’s home, they would find three trash bags stashed in a crawl space. One officer touched the bags and immediately felt the shape of limbs and texture of hair through the plastic. It was the rest of Jessica’s body.

 Austin also told officers that he had flushed Jessica’s internal organs down the toilet in his bathroom. They later recovered pieces of human tissue in the plumbing, confirming his story. Authorities had taken Austin’s DNA sample and it lined up with what he was saying. It matched what was found on Jessica as well as the jogger.

 During the course of their investigation, police found sexually explicit photos and videos of children. When he was asked about the disturbing media, Austin said that he was addicted and that the violent images had just become darker and darker. Yet, he also said about Jessica’s murder, “I don’t feel like I’m the kind of person who would do this kind of thing.

” Austin had been sent to therapy when he was only 13 after his mother had found CP images on his computer. But according to Austin, after he had seen the psychiatrist, he only had a grip on things for about a month. Then he started viewing these disgusting images all over again. 17-year-old Austin Sig was charged as an adult with first-degree murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, and other counts in connection with Jessica’s death.

 In regards to the CP that had been found, he was additionally charged with child sexual exploitation. Apparently, back on October 19th, a neighbor had contacted police to say that she recognized the cross that had been found inside of Jessica. The neighbor claimed that it looked like one that belonged to Austin.

 She also knew that he had a fascination with death and decaying bodies. When this was reported, FBI agents spoke to Austin and also obtained his DNA sample. He told them that he had been at home at the time that Jessica was kidnapped, but he was sleeping. Officers noticed that Austin was wearing a cross, and they asked him about it.

 But since he had calmly answered all their questions, they left the home without any further suspicion. Now, initially, there had been a mixup with Austin’s DNA sample that was taken, and it came back as not matching what was found on Jessica. So, investigators had moved on. It was only later after he had made his confession to his mother that police realized the mixup.

 On October 22nd, media reports said that a DNA link had been made between Jessica and the jogger. The same day, Austin had told his classmates that he felt tremendously sick and wobbly. He had also spent that night sleeping in his mother, Mindy’s bed. The next day was when Austin confessed to his crimes. Now, the 17-year-old had been taking classes on mortuary science at a nearby community college and studying to become a mortician.

 Recently, he had made a very creepy comment to his brother in which he said that he was learning how to kill people and get away with it. Austin’s mother, Mindy, had even on occasion joked to friends about her son’s interest in decomposing human bodies and said that for school, she had helped him practice restraining someone with zip ties.

 Classmates of Austin said that there was always something wrong with him. He was very smart, but would always be awkward around others and talk to himself. He had dropped out of school in the 11th grade because he was so badly bullied for having a high voice and he instead had gotten his high school equivalency diploma. One classmate had done a case study on the serial killer Ted Bundy.

 And while she was talking about how he had no empathy for his victims, Austin laughed to himself, then seemed intrigued and almost excited about the topic. Austin’s girlfriend, who described him as a sweet and genuine guy, would tell investigators that he had stayed at her house one night a week. Austin’s mother, on the other hand, said that he was gone for up to four nights each week.

 No one knows where he was those other nights. However, it’s possible that he was out hunting because in the weeks prior to Jessica’s death, he said that’s exactly what he was doing as he drove his Jeep around various neighborhoods. Austin said, “Anytime I would even see someone out walking while I was in one of those modes, my heart would instantly start beating really fast.

” A neighbor named Emily said that her 11-year-old daughter had come up to her after Jessica was abducted and told her that she knew exactly who had done it. The little girl had pointed out Austin, but at the time, no one believed her.  I feel bad that uh I dismissed it. When Emily Alexander’s 11-year-old daughter said she knew who kidnapped Jessica, no one believed her.

She goes, “Mom, oh my god, I know who did it.” And I go, “Who?” And she goes, “The goth teenager from the park at this park just down the road.” She says a teenage boy had been acting strangely, staring at her daughter walking by their home.  And she pointed him out right across the street from our house.

 He was  But when she saw the face all over the news, she recognized that stare immediately. So did Christy Mueller. When I saw his mug shot, it’s like I literally took a step back and just it just hit me.  Twice last summer while running on this trail near Stanley Lake, she saw Austin Sig walking with two friends and something wasn’t quite right.

 And I made eye contact and that’s what I thought was so weird is that I I said hello and they just looked at me and didn’t say anything to me. Just having my dog is just extra protection. So, I think that he’s what saved me.  Emily Alexander says her daughter’s friends may have been what saved her. If she had been at the park alone, there’s no telling, you know, what could have happened.

 I should have let her know that in the moment she feels uncomfortable, that she should trust that and that, you know, it’s better to be safe than sorry. And her daughter is still coming to terms with all of this. She actually said, “If he kidnapped me, maybe Jessica would never have been taken.” Following Austin’s arrest, his father, Robert, made a statement in which he said, “There are no words to express the sorrow that I and my family feel for the pain they are suffering.

 We are devastated by the knowledge that my son Austin Sie has been arrested. This horrible event is a tragedy for both families as well as the community. I ask also for your prayers and support for Austin’s mother whose courageous act unimaginably painful for any parent has put this tragedy on the path to resolution.

 Austin’s mother, Mindy, felt incredibly guilty for what had happened to Jessica. Not because she was a part of it, but because she had been the one who gave birth to and raised Austin. She said that he had been such a beautiful baby and a kind child. It was just unfathomable who he was now. Jessica’s mother, Sarah, didn’t want Mindy to blame herself, and she publicly said that Austin’s mother had done nothing to cause this.

 And she didn’t believe that the way he was raised had anything to do with what he had done. The prosecution originally intended to present a death penalty case against Austin. However, since he was technically a minor at the time of the crime, he was ineligible. So instead, they tried for life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Austin’s legal council argued that since he was 17 at the time, he was not mature enough to understand the severity of his actions. They claimed that his mother had inhaled paint fumes and fallen down the stairs while she was pregnant with him. They also said that the trauma he had suffered at his birth due to a vacuum extractor had left him with head deformities and intestinal problems.

 The prosecution, on the other hand, argued that Austin had meticulously planned the abduction of the jogger and that Jessica’s abduction was only four months later. He had also spent those months leading up to Jessica’s death doing research on how to make chloroform and the top 10 places that people get abducted.

 Just two days before his murder trial was about to start on October 1st, 2013, Austin confessed to his crimes in court. And against the advice of his lawyers, he pleaded guilty to a total of 15 charges, including first-degree murder, essay of a minor, kidnapping, and sexual exploitation of a minor. Two weeks later, Austin was sentenced to life in prison.

 The sentence granted a possibility of parole after 40 years. However, the judge ordered that he serve an additional 86 years once he becomes eligible for parole. Austin’s attorney tried to argue this sentence, saying that it was cruel and unusual, and that Austin had a history of unadressed mental health issues, which had left him not in the right state of mind at the time of the murder.

 But it was dismissed by the judge, who said, “This case cries out for a life sentence.” Jessica’s family had asked the judge to impose the maximum possible sentence allowed. Jessica’s grandmother, who was present for Austin’s sentencing, said that he was a monster who had shattered the core of their family. Jessica’s mother spoke, too, and she said that Austin did not deserve to know how Jessica’s death had affected her.

So, I’m actually not going to say anything today because I don’t think that the defendant has the right to hear how he affected my me, my family, or who Jessica was. Once we walk out of this courtroom, we’ll not remember his name. And we’ll all only remember Jessica and the legacy created legacy she created as well as the lassie project in which she inspired. Thank you. Thank you.

Shortly after the 10-year-old’s death, a public memorial was held. And nearly 2,000 family members, friends, neighbors, and others gathered to remember her.  She’s safe and sound in a place where no one can ever hurt her.  An emotional evening as an entire community remembers Jessica Rididgeway. Family, friends, and those from her neighborhood packing a memorial service tonight to remember the 10-year-old who died in an abduction.

 7 News reporter Molly Hendrickson at tonight’s memorial.  To her family, she was just a normal little girl. Like most 10-year-olds, she loved sleepovers.  Just think of this together.  Like to fish  and find frogs and had an affinity for animals.  This is my dog.  Jessica was always doing silly things that would make you want to shake your your head at her.

 [snorts] She brought light to everyone’s li lives and she had a profound impact on everyone that she met.  Over the last 11 days, she has both captured and broken our hearts. We have hoped, searched, and grieved. Her story has become the communities and they’ve come to honor her legacy. Those of us involved in this case unfortunately never had the privilege of knowing your wonderful daughter, but I can honestly tell you we feel like we did.

 We feel like she’s part of our family and we feel like we’ve lost part of our family.  A girl who wanted one day to be a cheerleader, love Disney, and love playing with her friends. Ordinary. Perhaps that’s what made her so special. You have wrapped us in your collective arms and we are here to share our precious little Jessica with you because now she is not just our ordinary little girl.

 She’s everyone’s ordinary little girl. Today, Jessica’s memory remains alive at the park where she was supposed to meet her friends that fateful day. A playground has been built in her honor. And to reflect her playful spirit, butterflies, dragonflies, and traces of purple, her favorite color, were incorporated into the outdoor space, now known as the Jessica Rididgeway Memorial Park.

 Each year, hundreds of children and adults use the park for fun, recreation, and remembering Jessica. And this park has just been transformed here. Everywhere you look, there are hints of Jessica. from the purple that is speckled throughout the park to this dragonfly teeter totter which we’re told represents a school project she was particularly fond of that she was working on at the time of her disappearance.

 Now this park is a place for the community to come grieve and to celebrate the little girl so many loved. It was no less than a year ago this community first fell in love with Jessica Rididgeway.  She’s absolutely everybody’s angel. an animal loving 10-year-old with a passion for purple who vanished near this park.  This case profoundly impacted everybody that was involved in it.

 I think most of us actually began to feel as if Jessica was our own daughter. It touched us that deeply.  A year later, it still does. Most of these people didn’t even know Jessica, but they came to the park dedication anyway. There was just something about her story.  Her story has touched my heart. I’m from a little community in South Dakota and you only see stuff like this on the TV and she absolutely made it real to me.

It now bears little resemblance of the place that stole their innocence. It’s crawling with kids laced with the color and things she loved. And the people in it, they’re different, too.  We’re much stronger, much tighter. Um, I think that we really look out for our own a lot more. A community forever split into halves of before and after.

 Once you got to the neighborhood, you could feel the energy. Absolutely has changed this neighborhood forever.  And the little girl many never knew and few will ever forget.  5 years after Jessica’s death, her mother Sarah welcomed a new little girl into the world. Thank you to all the patrons of A Wickedworld.

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