CO - Jessica Ridgeway, 10, Westminster, 5 Oct 2012 - #20

[SpriteGal]

Yes. I think foundation crawl spaces are typically accessed from the outside but attic crawl spaces from the inside??? I think crawl space definitions vary regionally, maybe we need to ask a local.

The few crawl spaces I can think of have been inside within the basement. I have lived in Denver area my whole life. It could be something different because obviously I haven't seen every crawlspace in the state, just a few.

 

[eileenhawkeye]

Did you see the picture of my crawl space that I posted? You would have to crawl inside there and search, literally. THey didn't have cause, or time, at that point.

No, you wouldn't. It's so small that just opening the door and shining a flashlight would let you see what's inside.

 

[MidwestMama]

From what I know, yes. In my house it is at least.

My crawl space is accessed ONLY from the inside of the house. Not sure I would feel very comfortable if it could be accessed from outside :what:

 

[scadder21]

Might you link where it is verified that the judge issued a gag order.. Below are TWO DIFFERENT SOURCES VIA MSM stating the opposite in that the defense asked for a gag order BUT THE JUDGE DENIED AND DID NOT ISSUE A GAG ORDER..

TIA

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...-murder-austin-sigg-appears-in-court-thursday


http://abcnews.go.com/US/jessica-ridgeway-murder-suspect-austin-sigg-calm-court/story?id=17558599

I can't find it but it was on this site. These threads go so fast. It's the one where they are towing away the car. Then they mention the gag order the judge just gave but before he gave it that LE released other information. I forgot what it was.

 

[cleo612]

The Judge has issued a gag order.......no more police info for awhile.

I am sorry I do not have a link, but one was just posted a few pages back--I tried to find it but must be too "over-read" at this point to find it (have been reading furiously for the past 29 hours trying to catch up on all of the latest news with no sleep).

All that to say that there is NO GAG ORDER in this case. Defense attorney asked that all records be sealed and that a gag order be issued--the judge ordered the records sealed but DID NOT issue a gag order.

 

[FightTheOstrich]

I just googled crawl space and was surprised that there is horror movie from 1986 called CRAWLSPACE about the son of a Nazi doctor who tortures women in his Crawlspace. Just a little creepy...

 

[twall]

the killer of Somer Thompson pled guilty to avoid the death penalty.

I hope AS pleads guilty, although there is not much to offer him, is there, for pleading guilty?

I don't think the community needs the expense or the horror of a trial. The Ridgeways certainly do not need to have this drag on forever.

It will be interesting if Dad provides an attorney. One for this kind of case would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, is my guess.

So did Michael Plumadore.

I am thinking they could barter with LWOP/LWP. I think he will plead out, get LWP but enough charges running consecutively he will be a very old man before he is even eligible for parole. :moo:

 

[EmilyB]

Yes. I think foundation crawl spaces are typically accessed from the outside but attic crawl spaces from the inside??? I think crawl space definitions vary regionally, maybe we need to ask a local.

I think I remember the house being a split level from news video? If so, I live in CO and have lived in a split level. There was a crawl space accessible from inside the house. It was under the 2nd level of the house (there was a garage entrance into the lower level, then a second split level, then a third level. Pretty big crawl space area. Had to crouch to walk around and there was dirt. It housed the furnace and water access. I can't speak for this particular house though...just giving my two cents!

 

[pinto]

No, you wouldn't. It's so small that just opening the door and shining a flashlight would let you see what's inside.

:waitasec:

There is plastic tarp in there, you can't see under that. There are sheets of plywood that you can't see under. There are piles of old insulation, can't see under those either....

 

[Knox]

A voluntary civil commitment is a voluntary admission. The patient can check themselves out of the hospital under this agreement IF the doc believes they are not a danger to themselves or others.

Most mentally ill inmates are kept and treated inside the prison and not in state psych hospitals. Your local prison may not have the capacity to care for its huge number of mentally ill inmates and they may be sent to the state psych hospital for this reason.

If Austin knew right from wrong at the time he committed this murder, the court will not view him as insane regardless of what diagnoses he may have.

http://www.doc.wa.gov/community/sexoffenders/civilcommitment.asp
Would a judge lock him up as a sex offender after he has served his prison time? Hmmm. Let's hope so.

Not sure of technical details. But when she referred to VCC, she was speaking within the context of CDCR inmates who want to get into the State Mental Facilities, it's much safer for them there.

I wasn't aware you had to be insane to be committed to a State Hospital?

Coalinga State Hospital (CSH) is a state mental hospital in Coalinga, California.


The facility opened on September 5, 2005 and was California’s newest state hospital, the first to be constructed in the state in more than 50 years. It is a maximum security civil-commitment facility built to ensure that sexually violent predators stay out of the community.[1] Currently, the hospital houses 850 sexually violent predators[2] (SVPs) and 100 mentally disordered offenders. The hospital previously housed fifty mentally ill prisoners from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and still maintains the contract and resources to house this forensic population, but the California Department of Mental Health aims to designate CSH as a civil-commitment facility only. The SVPs are men who fall under the sexually violent predator (SVP) laws (first Megan's Law and later Jessica's Law), where the men are deemed too likely to reoffend to be released and are housed indefinitely at the hospital until they are deemed no longer a danger to the community. Less than 1% of the 100,000 registered sexual offenders in the state of California fall into the SVP category.[citation needed]


Treatment is offered, but is not required. Approximately 1/3 of individuals accept California's sex offender treatment. The hospital has a 1,500 bed capacity (as of August 2010 the hospital is 63% full). The median age of SVPs is 47.1 and this is expected to increase as the hospital's population continues to age.

 

[pinto]

Maybe the photos are from church retreats.

People at the junior college, where he had only attended for a few weeks, seemed to have a different opinion of Austin than those that attended high school with him. I find this interesting and wonder if Austin was prescribed psychotropics during his alleged *advertiser censored* treatment. He dropped out of high school during this time according to Nancy Grace. (I know. I know. Don't tase me! ) I posted 'alleged' because I think he was probably treated for several mental health problems/disorders.

I think that very often people who are uncomfortable in high school are much more comfortable in college or work settings. THat isn't unusual. He was obviously ready to be out of HS ... he was bullied, he was interested in other (!) things than typical teenage fare. I mean, obviously he was kind of creepy (understatement), but if you didn't really know (and probably no one did), you might think he was just an awkward smart kid who, however, knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life, and wanted to get a head start on it.

 

[izzyblizzy]

The few crawl spaces I can think of have been inside within the basement. I have lived in Denver area my whole life. It could be something different because obviously I haven't seen every crawlspace in the state, just a few.

What I call crawl spaces are little areas that aren't usable spaces. Usually under the stairs or where the roof pitches down. I use them for my Christmas decorations and things I rarely have to access. I live in Denver area. But they aren't all in basement. I have a couple with doors where the roof deeply pitches and behind the doors are spaces you would literally have to crawl into to reach.

 

[Pensfan]

:waitasec:

There is plastic tarp in there, you can't see under that. There are sheets of plywood that you can't see under. There are piles of old insulation, can't see under those either....

He might have buried the body parts in the dirt under the plastic tarp. LE set up a tent in his front yard and seemed to be there quite a while. I think they had to dig.

 

[rocketman60]

I highly doubt he told his mom what he did. I suspect that mom asked him a question that he couldn't answer, then she told him that she would contact police, then there was an outburst (similar to the Casey Anthony scene) and police arrested him an hour later.

True...

 

[eileenhawkeye]

:waitasec:

There is plastic tarp in there, you can't see under that. There are sheets of plywood that you can't see under. There are piles of old insulation, can't see under those either....

That's the crawl space in your house. Each one is different. We're talking about someone who gave LE his DNA, so what if the body was not hidden at all in the crawlspace? We don't know. If LE had shined a flashlight, but didn't see her body, would that be "okay"?

 

[enzeder]

Anyone that refuses the DNA test comes under suspicion. While they are there they can have a look around, again to trigger any response. Doubtful they will find a blood soaked carpet in the living room of course. If he was in fact in the 500 sample pool they were working through, they may have only been hours or days away from getting to his sample.

It would have just been a matter of time before they caught up with him. I think Sigg knew only too well that his goose was well and truly cooked.

DA cites DNA, confession during teen suspect's hearing in Jessica Ridgeway killing

Excerpt: Sources told the CALL7 Investigators that police would have eventually been led to Sigg, because he was one of 500 people who voluntarily submitted their DNA to investigators. So, while the phone call tip to police led to Sigg's arrest more quickly, once all of the DNA samples from neighborhood residents had been processed, investigators would have connected the cases to Sigg.

Read more: http://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...-murder-austin-sigg-appears-in-court-thursday

 

[LaborDayRN]

Are anyone else's margins blown?

Mine are. I tried to refresh but it didn't help.

 

[lishac23]

With the docs being sealed there wont be much to talk about IMO. "They" can talk about certain things w/out a gag order but nothing about whats been sealed.....which is probably everything.

As intriguing as some aspects of this case may be. For Jessica's memory and her families sake, I for one am glad they have been sealed. As a mother my heart deeply went out to Jessica's mom especially those days when the media constantly reported on the condition of her remains. I couldnt imagine waiting by the phone for LE to tell me that it was infact my 10 year old baby found "DISMEMBERED" and "NOT INTACT".

Sorry for the quick rant.

 

[Pensfan]

Not sure of technical details. But when she referred to VCC, she was speaking within the context of CDCR inmates who want to get into the State Mental Facilities, it's much safer for them there.

I wasn't aware you had to be insane to be committed to a State Hospital?

State hospitals serve all types of mental illnesses. My comment referred to this: If Austin is determined to have known right from wrong, the court will not consider him to be 'insane' regardless of whatever diagnoses he might have.

There is a massive shortage of psychiatric beds in the USA because of government funding cuts put into place in the 1980s. State facilities were closed in mass under the guise that mental patients were best served in community settings. (States could not afford the rising cost of inpatient care.)

If Colorado has state hospitals with open beds, that is amazing. I certainly understand that mentally ill inmates would much rather be placed outside of the prison, but neither facility is pleasant.

 

[Kimster]

You guys need to link to where the pics are coming from for copyright reasons.