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

[mck16]

News reports say he confessed to his mother and she had him call LE. Are there any reports as to why he confessed? Was it remorese, was it fear? Did Mom find something. Has any of this been reported? tia

 

[hollyblue]

I hav\e just been able to get back on the forum because my dog got bitten by a copperhead and I have been at the emergency vet dealing with that.

So, has there been any indication that JR knew this person or if any of her friends knew him? tia

Oh mck16, I'm so sorry....is he ok and back home?

No connection known at this time. Many interviews with his school mates and people in the neighborhood.

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

You know, with this suspect's studies and "interests", even his internet history, if it had been checked prior to this crime, might not have aroused undue suspicions, as it may have seemed like research (much like the internet history of many of us here.) So even if his mother had monitored that (which is doubtful for a 17-year old) that may not have provided her with any real clues that something was wrong.

But I still think we will be hearing of other things that were/should of been red flags.

OK I haven't seen it brought up to this point yet...I watched Fox31 news (Denver) tonight, and they said they have info we'll only hear on Fox...that he had previously seen a counselor for a *advertiser censored* addiction? Did anybody else catch this? I'll try and see if they put it in print yet. They also mentioned that he was out of the country just after the Memorial Day attempt. I missed the details because I had to go attend to bed time...

Also, I heard a former acquaintance on the afternoon news tell them that he used to boast about his hacking skills. That freaked me out a little.

 

[waitin'4thewrld2chg]

Just to be clear, feeling compassion for him does not mean I think he should be walking the streets.

I do believe that he is in some way mentally ill or mentally broken or however one visualises someone's mind that is not healthy. Part of the tragedy is that there is, so far as I can see, no treatment or cure that can be shown to be effective.

The best we can do, as a society, is to put him where he cannot continue such behaviour.

I don't want him tortured, I don't want him to be treated the way he treated Jessica but I do want him to be put away for the safety of everyone else. I wish that conditions in penitentiaries in this country were much better but for now, it is what it is. It's more important to protect society.

I agree, a thousand times over, with every word in your post. Thank you for sharing these thoughts.

 

[StJohn]

News reports say he confessed to his mother and she had him call LE. Are there any reports as to why he confessed? Was it remorese, was it fear? Did Mom find something. Has any of this been reported? tia

Nothing to back this up, but I can just about guarantee he didn't confess out of remorse...

 

[Von Pinn]

OK I haven't seen it brought up to this point yet...I watched Fox31 news (Denver) tonight, and they said they have info we'll only hear on Fox...that he had previously seen a counselor for a *advertiser censored* addiction? Did anybody else catch this? I'll try and see if they put it in print yet. They also mentioned that he was out of the country just after the Memorial Day attempt. I missed the details because I had to go attend to bed time...

Also, I heard a former acquaintance on the afternoon news tell them that he used to boast about his hacking skills. That freaked me out a little.

Could he have meant computer hacking?

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

Could he have meant computer hacking?

Oh yes, that's what I meant. Hacking websites. Yipes...sorry!

 

[mck16]

Oh mck16, I'm so sorry....is he ok and back home?

No connection known at this time. Many interviews with his school mates and people in the neighborhood.

Sleeping peacefully at the foot of my bed. Face is all swollen and according to the vet hurts her a lot. I think she is much better than I am. I hate snakes and am so afraid of them. I just remember JR's mom has gone through so much more than this. Glad for the arrest.

 

[cluciano63]

Could he have meant computer hacking?

Yes, I would guess that is the most common meaning of hacking these days.Of course he could have meant it in two ways...

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

Also, I had a quick thought...where did he take his brother to school? Was it at Witt? If so, I wonder if Jessica knew the little brother. Then with AS's bullying issues, I wonder if his brother was and AS was "looking out" for him?

ALL speculation, just thoughts.

 

[Von Pinn]

Oh yes, that's what I meant. Hacking websites. Yipes...sorry!

After all I've been reading about this case, a different kind of "hacking" came to mind first. :blushing: Computer hacking can be scary too.

 

[Reannan]

How strange it is to feel great relief, and complete shock and revulsion all at the same time. I feel SO relieved for Jessica's family, for LE, and for the community that lives there. This has been a nightmare for them. I hope they all can sleep deeply tonight, knowing that the monster who committed this horrible crime against Jessica is under arrest. I feel complete shock that this perp was SO young!!!! His age really isn't that big of a surprise to me, but so far, all I get is that he might have been "bullied", and he sometimes "acted strange". That description can fit approximately 75% of high school kids, and 99.9% of them do not progress to kidnapping, murdering, and dismembering children! Congratulations to a job well done by LE, the public who submitted tips.

 

[kkdj]

Also, I had a quick thought...where did he take his brother to school? Was it at Witt? If so, I wonder if Jessica knew the little brother. Then with AS's bullying issues, I wonder if his brother was and AS was "looking out" for him?

ALL speculation, just thoughts.

I read that his brother is 14 so I would think he is a freshman in high school.

 

[SmoothOperator]

People talk about how violent video games or "torture *advertiser censored*" movies desensitize people, but what about the 24/7 media coverage on crime cases? On ABC News' website at this moment, I see headlines about Jessica, 3 people killed in shooting, an execution in Texas for a 1991 murder, the missing baby in PA, the woman who murdered Sylvia Likens, Skakel being denied parole, and the Fort Hood massacre.

Yep, it'd be my opinion thatexcessive exposure to the saturation of brutal, horrific details of crimes would definitely rank right up there with excessive exposure to extremely violent games, movies, and other forms of entertainment media..

Imo excessive exposure to extremely negative ANYTHING = Negative impact..jmo and what my common sense and logical conclusions tell me..

 

[Pensfan]

I so hope this was very swift for Jessica and that she didn't feel fear for very long.
I also feel that his crimes against Jessica also involved sexual assault. I hope she wasn't aware.
I hope I'm wrong and that he didn't sexually assault her tho.
Jmo

I don't think she was alive if this occurred. Numerous classmates have made reference to the fact that Austin was overly interested/intrigued with dead bodies. He told someone he was enrolled in mortuary science. Another classmate stated that he actually completed a project on the topic of keeping a body in water versus keeping it in dirt or frozen.

Pensfan
verified psychiatric mental health nurse

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

I can't remember where I read it, or if someone there told me, but I keep thinking there is like a 2 year backlog.
While some states take samples as mentioned, almost all are incredibly backlogged and even high priority crimes aren't getting done quickly, so if someone isn't on the radar for a sexual crime or murder, etc, but something like fraud or DV, they are going to the back of the pile.

similar to triage?:waitasec:

 

[ZhaZhaHa]

I read that his brother is 14 so I would think he is a freshman in high school.

Ahh thank you! Then perhaps no.

And I am looking but not finding this "Fox Exclusive" in print online yet, so take it with a grain (the *advertiser censored* addiction counseling)

 

[kkdj]

OK I haven't seen it brought up to this point yet...I watched Fox31 news (Denver) tonight, and they said they have info we'll only hear on Fox...that he had previously seen a counselor for a *advertiser censored* addiction? Did anybody else catch this? I'll try and see if they put it in print yet. They also mentioned that he was out of the country just after the Memorial Day attempt. I missed the details because I had to go attend to bed time...

Also, I heard a former acquaintance on the afternoon news tell them that he used to boast about his hacking skills. That freaked me out a little.

IMO if he has a history of *advertiser censored* addiction......

 

[helpful]

I have to say I get a lil' weirded out when I read how anyone that's an introvert (oh and this isn't directed towards anything you said btw) is seen as "weird". My youngest child is high functioning and no one would know unless I told them but he has Aspergers. He has socializing issues, plays minecraft and has a good time, he's great in school but has 1 friend. He's a sweet awesome kid but he just doesn't bode well with people. He likes to read and be by himself. He's a helper and likes to do environmental and animal rights things but people just bug him out. And I end up mumbling to myself all the time, lol I think it's a mom thing because we are so used to no one listening to us anyway

OT: Thanks isn't enough. I work in a lab studying autism and most of our kids are very high-functioning, like your son. I really hate the push to label any child who is an introvert or a little quirky as autistic. :banghead: I understand that it's human nature to want to put everything in a neat category, so that there's an easy explanation for behavior that isn't "normal," and I understand that parents especially are often desperate for a WHY, but really, hasty labeling does a disservice to kids who have a legitimate ASD diagnosis. I hate that so many of "our" kids have social difficulties because people (children AND adults) have trouble seeing past their behaviors and instead label them as "strange" and treat them without compassion. Autism isn't a synonym for "weird" or "shy," and as with so many things in life, a little understanding goes a long way.

It's like Temple Grandin says - "The world needs all kinds of brains." Your son sounds like a neat kid, and if he ever gets discouraged, maybe you can remind him of what Ms. Grandin says, because it is SO true. She's actually given a TED talk at ted.com with the same title, and I thought it was super interesting as a scientist interested in autism. You might find the same. It's only 10 or 15 minutes long but was pretty neat.

 

[scorekeeper]

http://kdvr.com/on-air/live-streaming/

will be doing a story up next on father....childhood