Registration deadline is Thursday, April 25!

A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to improvements at Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park!!

Registration Form
http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/Portals/0/Repository/Documents/News/PAAC%20Attack%20Dodgeball%20Tournament%20Registration%20Form.pdf

Accident Waiver
http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/Portals/0/Repository/Documents/News/ACCIDENT%20WAIVER%20AND%20RELEASE%20OF%20%20LIABILITY-PAAC%20Attack%20Dodgeball%20Tournament.pdf

City of Westminster
http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/News/NewsArchives/tabid/381/Article/1216/dodgeball-tourney-to-raise-money-for-jessicas-park.aspx

This came as no surprise, we were prepared for this even though we hoped for the “guilty” plea to end this painful chapter with the courts.

Please continue to remember and love Jessica, the bubbly, goofy, waitress playing, Monster High loving, Littlest Pet Shop collector, pet lover, sweet little 10 year old who wanted to be a cheerleader. Keep Jessica in your thoughts and in your hearts.

Together, we will get Justice for her and ensure the world never forgets our sweet Jessica.

Brief Summary of Jessica’s Case

10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway was kidnapped on her way to school on October 5, 2012. Her body was found five days later in a field in Arvada. Authorities say Austin Sigg, then 17, confessed to the kidnapping and slaying. He was arrested October 23.

Sigg, who turned 18 in jail, is charged with 18 counts related to Jessica’s death, as well as an attack on a jogger at Ketner Lake over Memorial Day weekend last year. Five of those counts carry mandatory life sentences.

Jessica Ridgeway Case Posts
http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2013/02/preliminary-hearing-for-jessica-ridgeway-case-complete/

http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2013/03/arraignment-for-jessica-ridgeway-case-rescheduled/

The Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23013197/austin-sigg-appear-court-friday-jessica-ridgeway-case

Click here to view a copy of the City of Westminster Parks & Recreation – Summer 2013 Activity Guide and for more information – page 47!

Jessica spent a majority of her time dancing or singing anything that popped into her head and now her camp will encourage others to do the same.

The camp will include performances by the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders as well as an appearance by the Stanley Lake Cheer Team.

Several years ago Jessica herself danced with the Stanley Lake Cheer Team through Stanley Lake Pee Wees. I remember doing her makeup for the performance, painting one eye green and the other blue in honor of her cousins Nick and Michael Pesavento’s school colors. She laughed and smiled throughout the whole performance and was so happy to finally have an audience to dance for.

Please join us for this wonderful camp and help us honor Jessica’s memory in this community camp designed for all who want to partake!

~ By Beverly Sternberg

Chipper gave permission for us to share a little excerpt from her book, a part where she talks about Jessica, Bristle and Jessica’s park. ♥

Chipper donated 100% of her March net profits to help rescue children in the sex trade and she donated 100% of her April net profits to the Colorado Puppy Rescue. Chipper will donate 100% of her May net profits to the Jessica Ridgeway Legacy Fund. We know Jessica is proud of all these wonderful things people and their pets are doing to honor her memory and her legacy!

** Go to www.ChippersFriends.com to order Chipper’s book and use the coupon code MAYBOOKS13 to get 20% off! It doesn’t affect the net profits, so they’ll still be able to donate the same amount to the Jessica Ridgeway Legacy Fund whether you use the coupon code or not!

Please “like” Chipper’s Facebook page Chipper’s Friends and visit her website www.ChippersFriends.com for more information about Chipper, her book and the people who love her. Thank you!!

You can help us raise money for the Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park remodel tomorrow night. Stop by Sonic, 10051 Wadsworth Parkway, on Wednesday between 4 and 9.

20% of all sales will be donated to the Westmister Legacy Foundation for construction of the park in Jessica’s memory!!

Sigg’s attorneys requested the arraignment be delayed for two months.

Munsinger pressed Sigg’s attorneys to explain why they needed more time to enter a plea for their client. He stressed the need to keep the court process on track.

In making the defense team’s case for more time, attorney Katherine Spengler told the judge there were 50,000 pages of discovery, 1,800 pieces of physical evidence and 2,500 photographs. Spengler also said the public defender’s office needs new software to access some of the computer evidence.

“A race to justice really is no justice at all,” she said.

The defense also requested a private meeting with the judge, without prosecutors present. They alluded to possible evidence they wanted to discuss but didn’t want prosecutors to be aware of. Munsinger instructed them to file a written request for that conference.

The judge reminded the defense attorneys they were only being asked to enter a plea at Tuesday’s hearing. “You’ve got three choices, guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity,” he said. He added that they would likely be able to amend a plea if necessary.

Jefferson County District Court Judge Stephen Munsinger granted a 30-day delay in the arraignment. The judge set the new arraignment for April 12 at 1:30 p.m. MST.

Brief Summary of Jessica’s Case

10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway was kidnapped on her way to school on October 5, 2012. Her body was found five days later in a field in Arvada. Authorities say Austin Sigg, then 17, confessed to the kidnapping and slaying. He was arrested October 23.

Sigg, who turned 18 in jail, is charged with 18 counts related to Jessica’s death, as well as an attack on a jogger at Ketner Lake over Memorial Day weekend last year. Five of those counts carry mandatory life sentences.

Jessica Ridgeway Case Posts
http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2013/02/preliminary-hearing-for-jessica-ridgeway-case-complete/

The Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22772890/austin-sigg-enter-plea-kidnapping-death-jessica-ridgeway

Channel 7 News
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/jessica-ridgeway/jessica-ridgeway-case-suspect-austin-sigg-expected-to-enter-a-plea-on-tuesday

Fundraising continues for the Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park in Westminster, and the success of the effort is allowing for additional improvements as part of the project.

Money raised so far has surpassed $400,000, and coupled with estimated in-kind donations of more than $100,000, the fundraising total now stands at more than $500,000.

“We’re honored and excited about the community support we’ve received so far,” said Don Tripp, director of Westminster Parks, Recreation and Libraries. “Our success means we think we can raise enough to make this the kind of project that our community wants to see.”

Current project estimates are for $538,000, which includes additions and upgrades based on input from the Ridgeway family and Witt Elementary School; consultations with engineering, construction and supply companies in the parks field; and improvements to the plaza concrete, pedestrian lighting and the existing basketball court.

The total includes a 10 percent contingency for any unexpected issues that may arise during construction.

The next phase of cost assessment will be actual bids for the work, which will occur in March. The project will be built within funds that are available, so there are cost-containment options that are being pursued during the bid process.

Fundraising requests are still being actively pursued to close the construction funding gap and to accommodate any bids that may be higher than expected. If fundraising exceeds the cost of construction, all remaining funds will be placed in an account to be used for future repairs and updates to the park’s improvements.

“Much of the furniture, the art and the play features are powder coated with purple and green, so see real value in regular repainting to offset the impacts of the sun’s rays,” said Tripp. “There will also be normal wear and tear of park features, and any extra funds will help assure that the park will always beautifully reflect the goals for this project.”

The Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park will be an enduring tribute to the memory of a girl whose joyful spirit touched so many. In keeping with the family’s wishes, the park will be a place for positive reflection and memories. Construction of the park will begin in the spring of 2013 with the park dedication taking place later this year.

Complete details on the park, including proposed designs, are on the Westminster Legacy Foundation website. The Westminster Legacy Foundation was established in 2001 to support and enhance programs and projects that benefit the Westminster community and its citizens.

Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park Donors

The Ridgeway family and the Westminster Legacy Foundation would like to thank the following for their generous contributions in money, time and services to help build Jessica’s park:

City of Westminster – $200,000 in cash and in-kind services.

Jefferson County – $100,000 from the county’s share of the Colorado Lottery’s Conservation Trust Fund.

Colorado Garden Show, Inc. – $50,000 grant plus booth and in-kind support at the Colorado Garden and Home Show.

Ball Corporation – $5,000.

Majestic Metals (park sign) – $2,500.

Martin & Martin – pro bono structural engineering.

Westminster Fire Department Fire Victims Benefit Fund – $1,000.

Heinrich Marketing – pro bono marketing support.

GroundFloor Media – pro bono marketing support.

Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park Posts
http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2013/01/colorado-garden-home-show-makes-donation-for-jessicas-park/

http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2013/01/jessica-ridgeway-memorial-park-150k-needed/

http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2012/12/cbs-4-showcases-strangers-united-to-have-park-renamed/

http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2012/12/jessica-ridgway-memorial-park-sign-is-now-up/

http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2012/11/city-counsel-passes-motion-to-rename-chelsea-park-to-jessica-ridgeway-memorial-park/

Westminster Legacy Foundation
http://www.westminsterlegacyfoundation.org/

City of Westminster
http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/News/NewsArchives/tabid/381/Article/1127/fundraising-success-boosting-improvements-to-jessicas-park.aspx

Inspired by Jessica Ridgeway, a 10-year-old girl from Westminster, CO who was abducted and murdered in October 2012, 8-year-old Trevor Long decided he wanted to organize a 5K walk/run event to help raise awareness and money for missing and endangered kids.

This family friendly 5K walk/run event will take place on April 6, 2013. Originally this event was planned to take place at the Memorial Park in Arvada, CO and wind around the Ralston Creek Trail. Due to construction at Memorial Park, the event will now take place at Van Bibber Park in Arvada, CO. It is a quiet, beautiful location with on-site bathrooms.

There will be a small safety fair immediately following the 5K walk/run. Child ID kits will be available as well as information on how you can keep your kids safe!

We will have a booth for Jessica Ridgeway’s Legacy at the safety fair where we will accept donations and pass out Safety Fair pamphlets. Donations from our booth will go towards the Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park remodel and/or the Jessica Ridgeway Legacy Fund with the Broomfield Community Foundation, depending on if the $535K goal for the park remodel has been reached by the day of the event.

For more information on how to donate to Jessica Ridgeway’s Legacy click here.

Register now and receive a discount! To register online click here.

Online Registration: 3/5/13 – 4/4/13 $30
Event Day Registration: 4/6/13 $35

All registered participants will receive an event T-shirt in the size chosen at the time of registration. T-shirts can be picked up at the registration booth on the event day, Saturday, April 6, 2013. Proceeds and donations from the registration booth will go to the NCMEC, the leading non-profit organization in the U.S. working with law enforcement, families and the professionals who serve them on issues related to missing and sexually exploited children.

Water will be available at the event. To avoid unnecessary landfill waste, we ask that you please bring your own water bottles or cups. Thank you!

For more information on how to donate to the NCMEC click here.

Event Day Schedule — Saturday, April 6, 2013

9:30 a.m. – Registration
10 a.m. – 5K Walk/Run Starts
10:30 a.m. – Safety Fair

FB Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/399042690163899

NOTE – this event is registered with the Secretary of State.

The preliminary hearing for Austin Sigg began at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, February 22, 2013 in a Jefferson County courtroom.

Prosecution Calls Their First Witness

The first witness for the prosecution took the stand on Friday to testify against Austin Sigg, now 18. Westminster Police’s Louis Lopez is the lead detective on the case against Sigg.

During his testimony, he outlined the Jessica Ridgeway case.

He said Jessica usually walked to school with her classmate Jeremy. That day, Jessica called Jeremy’s dad to make sure he was walking to school that day due to some bad weather. Jeremy’s dad said Jeremy was going to walk to school that day. Jessica never showed up to walk with him.

On October 7, 2012 Lopez says they found Jessica’s backpack. Inside the backpack, they found her boots with pom poms, prescription glasses, jeans, winter gloves, a tie-dyed T-shirt, a water bottle and underwear.

DNA found on Jessica’s clothing matched the DNA on the jogger’s clothing from the Kepner Lake incident where a jogger was attacked and the suspect was never found.

Lopez also recalled the day Jessica’s body was discovered. Workers from a dump picking up trash found the torso of a small, white girl. There were no arms, no legs and no head attached to the torso. A wooden cross was also found. DNA found on Jessica’s torso was compared to the DNA found on the water bottle from Jessica’s backpack. It was a match.

Lopez addressed the child porn accusations. He said detectives found a hard drive and a laptop that had pornographic photos of children on it.

Police Tipsters

Austin Sigg was on the police’s radar before his mother called to turn him in last fall.

On October 19, soon after the police had released the photos of the wooden cross, investigators received a tip from a neighbor saying she was the neighbor of Sigg. The tipster said she saw the photo of the cross released by police as possibly connected to the case. The tipster claimed she saw Sigg wearing crosses often and that he was “obsessed with death.” She said Sigg was taking mortuary science classes and was interested in bodies.

On Octobr 19, after receiving the tip rom Sigg’s neighbor, the FBI went to Sigg’s house to collect DNA evidence. On October 21, another DNA sample was taken.

Lopez testified Friday that the FBI took a DNA sample from Sigg based on the tip from Sigg’s neighbor.

The DNA samples from Sigg were eventually matched to the DNA found on the jogger’s clothing, Jessica’s body and Jessica’s clothing.

On October 23, Lopez said Sigg’s mother Mindy called police at 7:30 p.m. to report that her son had admitted to killing Jessica and assaulting the jogger. Mindy Sigg told police some of Jessica’s remains were in the crawl space of her house.

During Stutson’s testimony, a tape of the 911 phone call Minday made to police was played. Several members of Sigg’s family who were seated behind him began sobbing while the tape was played.

Police went to Sigg’s home to investigate after they had received the 911 call from Mindy. They found remains in the crawl space of the house that were later identified as Jessica’s. The cause of death according to the coroner was asphyxiation secondary to suffocation or strangulation.

Lopez pointed out the Siggs and the Ridgeways did not know each other.

Sexual Assault Nurse Testifies

The second witness was Anissa Jones. Jones is a sexual assault nurse examiner.

Jones testified about her forensic exam of Jessica’s remains. She said Jessica’s body had multiple bruises and lacerations on it.

“I believe there was some sort of penetration that occurred,” Jones testified.

The defense team clarified that no semen or sperm was discovered during the exam.

During Jones’ testimony, Jessica’s mother, Sarah Ridgeway, kept closing her eyes. It was visibly difficult for her to hear the testimony.

Detective Clarifies Child Porn Charges

The third witness called by the prosecution was a detective who talked about the child porn they found.

Detective Chris Pyler works for the Westminster Police Department in their Crimes Against Children/Internet Crimes division. Pyler testified that police confiscated two laptops and a computer tower from Sigg’s home. Two of the laptops were taken from Sigg’s bedroom.

All three hard drives were taken to the sheriff’s office lab in Boulder to be examined. All three had pictures on them of underage boys and girls exposing their private parts.

Austin Sigg’s Confession

WARNING – This part of the update is too graphic and painful to share on our website. For those who want to know, please go to 9 News (Sigg denies sexual assault section) and/or to The Denver Post to read about the details of Austin Sigg’s confession.

Brief Summary of Jessica’s Case

10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway was kidnapped on her way to school on October 5, 2012. Her body was found five days later in a field in Arvada. Authorities say Austin Sigg, then 17, confessed to the kidnapping and slaying. He was arrested October 23.

Sigg is accused of kidnapping and killing Jessica Ridgeway in October. Judge Stephen Munsinger bound Sigg over for trial on 18 of 20 counts relating to the death of Jessica and an attack on a jogger at Ketner Lake over Memorial Day weekend in 2012.

The Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22645173/jessica-ridgeway-case-charges-against-austin-sigg-altered

Channel 9 News
http://www.9news.com/dontmiss/318631/630/Ridgeway-suspect-now-facing-child-porn-charges

Channel 4 News
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/02/22/new-charges-for-sigg/

The Colorado Garden & Home Show will be from February 9 – 17, 2013 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.

“We’re delighted to have this major donation from the Colorado Garden Show, and it moves us much closer to our final goal,” said Westminster Mayor Nancy McNally in a quote provided by the city. “It’s fitting that their organization, which gives horticulture-focused grants to so many organizations, will help us build Jessica’s park.”

When the nonprofit’s executive director Jim Fricke held up a Denver Post story about the park at his board’s meeting, he said the response was immediate and bowled him over: the board voted to give the project $50,000. Now the recreation department has about $100,000 left to raise.

“It was kind of emotional for both of us, because it was such a big gift,” the City of Westminster Parks & Recreation director Don Tripp said of the meeting where Fricke told him about the grant. The park hadn’t applied. “They initiated this.”

“This grant certainly aligns with our mission to fund horticulture-related projects, but beyond that, the park will be an incredible place for Jessica’s friends and the community to play and remember the incredible girl she was,” said Fricke.

Contributions keep coming in, Tripp said: A staffer who passed a hat at an Adams County Council of Governments meeting came back with $500. “It’s very encouraging, but not at all surprising … This city adopted this little girl.”

Westminster management assistant Karen Layfield said Jessica’s death touched readers across the country.

“I got a phone call yesterday from a woman in Connecticut who saw the story through Facebook. She has family in Colorado, and an 11-year-old daughter with a striking resemblance to Jessica. They live only 10 minutes away from Newtown, and decided that they wanted to contribute $1 for every victim of Sandy Hook,” Layfield said.

Current designs for the new park include a zip line track ride, raised flower beds inscribed with knock-knock jokes and ribbon-themed benches and swings. The park’s theme is inspired by some of Jessica’s favorite things, including cheerleading, flowers and the color purple.

Help make this park a reality for the community and Jessica!

To donate directly to the Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park Fund visit the GivingFirst.org website by clicking here (major credit cards accepted)

You can send a check made payable to:

Westminster Legacy Foundation
P.O. Box 350356
Westminster, CO 80035-0356

Please note on the check that your donation is intended for the Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park Fund.

Donations to the Westminster Legacy Foundation are tax deductible.

Corporate and group donations are welcomed. For more information, contact Laura Magnetti or Karen Layfield, at the Westminster Legacy Foundation, 303-658-2209.

To see all the proposed park designs click here.

NOTE: All designs are preliminary and dependent on funding and final design.

Jessica Ridgeway Memorial Park Posts
http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2013/01/jessica-ridgeway-memorial-park-150k-needed/

http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2012/12/cbs-4-showcases-strangers-united-to-have-park-renamed/

http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2012/12/jessica-ridgway-memorial-park-sign-is-now-up/

http://www.jessicaridgeway.com/2012/11/city-counsel-passes-motion-to-rename-chelsea-park-to-jessica-ridgeway-memorial-park/

Colorado Garden & Home Show
http://www.gardeningcolorado.com/garden/colorado-garden-home-show

Channel 7 News
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/jessica-ridgeway/50000-donation-boosts-jessica-ridgeway-memorial-park-fund-353000-total-raised-so-far

The Denver Post
http://blogs.denverpost.com/coloradoathome/2013/01/24/park-memorialize-jessica-ridgeway-big-grant-colorado-garden-home-show/