Judge Rules 2 Separate Trials For Sigg In Murder, Jogger Attack
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)- The judge presiding over the trial where Austin Sigg is accused of murdering a 10-year-old girl has ruled that murder case will remain separate from another case in which he has been charged.
Sigg, who was 17 when he was arrested, has previously pleaded not guilty in the October 2012 death of Ridgeway. He also has denied charges stemming from an attack on a 22-year-old jogger at a lake in the girl's neighborhood over Memorial Day weekend.
Detectives gathered DNA evidence they said links Sigg to the attempted kidnapping in that case from May 2012.
Sigg has been charged with attempted murder, attempted sexual assault and attempted second-degree kidnapping in the attack on the runner and with six counts of crime of violence.
That jogger testified in court on Friday morning. Sigg was removed from the courtroom during her testimony. The court has taken great lengths to keep her identity from being released. They even used her first initials when discussing anything regarding her case in the courtroom.
The jogger testified that she had taken two laps around the lake before she was attacked from behind. She said there was a struggle when she was on the ground with Sigg and then was able to get away.
Sigg, now 18, is charged with several counts in the Ridgeway case including murder, kidnapping, sexual assault and robbery, as well as three counts of sexual exploitation of a child after authorities said they found child pornography during the investigation. Detectives say he has denied sexually assaulting Jessica but confessed to killing her.
The fifth-grader disappeared while walking to school Oct. 5, 2012. Hundreds of police and residents searched for her, and parents escorted their children to and from school. Her torso was found in a secluded park Oct. 10, 2012.
In the Ridgeway case prosecutors are working to keep certain evidence included in the trial. It's a list of websites that were found linked to Sigg's computer login about child torture and dismemberment. The judge ruled all of that evidence is admissible in the case.
