Criminal Spatial Analysis of the abductionAnd murder of Jessica RidgewayPresentation Researched and Produced by George P Hernandez, A.A. ,B.A., MURP , MBA*

The Geometry of a Murder

The Murder of Jessica Ridgeway: her killer - Austin Reed Sigg

Brantingham’s Theory of an Offender’s Criminal Target Search: A predator’s Strategy in locating probable victims offering the least amount of risk and who’s criminal behavior is considered among criminologist as a rational decision making process.

ModifiedModified from: Rossmo 1987

Specifically, “Geographic profiling” is most useful, Rossmo says, in cases where the same person or group of persons has committed a number of crimes such as murders, sexual assaults, robberies, bombings, or arsons. It is particularly helpful when offenders commit crimes at different sites, where two crimes are committed at once (such as a rape in which the victim’s purse is also stolen), or in cases where an assault or theft of a victim’s credit card is subsequently used at various locations.

Geographic Profiling: using the computer and specialized software as a support system in the investigation of crimes.

Geographic Profiling Spatial Analysis:Commercially Developed Software.Rigel Assist/ProfilerCrimeStat v3.3PredatorDragnetGeoProfilerESRI: Products

Statistically based Software with the capability of interfacing with GIS Mapping Programs:ESRI ArcView 3.3ArcGIS – v. 11MapInfo Google Earth ProStatistical Methodology:Nearest Neighbor Statistic, Regression Analysis, Spatial Autocorrelation

Geographic Information Systems (GIS):

Example: Crime Mapping Software ArcGIS v10

Preliminary Crime MapsProduced by the Public Press and Broadcast Media

Boulder Weekly - October 2012

A Gruesome Discovery at Parttridge Park, Arvada , Colorado, Open Space Park.

Parttridge Open Space Park Arvada Colorado

Map Point and visual of the Ridgeway home

The Home of Jessica Ridgeway in Westminster, Colorado October 2012

The media was standing by , across the street and down the street from Jessica’s home….October 2012

Austin Sigg’s ResidenceMother turns in her son as the alleged killer

A Thorough Investigation of the Sigg Residence, is conducted by the Westminster Police Department.

Austin Reed Sigg - Residence

The Predator Staked Out His Crime Journey, an observable Fact1. The Zoom out – Zoom in, a useful feature of geographic mapping software, Provides the ability to looking above and below.2. Understanding, the basics of ray optics and the Human visual system.3. Knowing the difference between a commuter and marauder type perpetrator.4. The value of perceiving a single incident violent crime from a “billiard ball” model of motion. Targets as vectors with trajectories..5. The location of material evidence: A visual reference frame as a memory trace.

Using what you have, when data is lacking. Changing your perspective.

A personal analysis of the Ridgeway Murder - Could this case, have been solved and her killer found, sooner than it was? There where at least three map point designations, which were known specific to Jessica’s murder.1. Her remains were found at Pattridge Park , an open space park, in Arvada, Colorado.2. A couple during a late midnight walk found articles allegedly belonging to Jessica, at a Superior, Colorado Subdivision. The items were later identified as Jessica’s back pack along with its contents.3. One essential location not considered in the investigation of Jessica’s murder, was her final destination – Witt Elementary School. An obvious point in one respect, but not so obvious in another.

Perpetrators Awareness Area Possible Abduction sites related to the Ridgeway Case: Some were useful and others entirely unrelated

The Predator-Victim-Locations. All data are listed as linear distances. One location was not known before October 24, 2012:Austin Sigg’s residence

What you see, is what you get!The Line-of-sight (LOS) visual aspect, at street level of a crime could consist of many visual obstacles, potentially making the task of investigation complicated and confusing. Specifically, when attempting to comprehend the spatial relationships of a crime.Observing the crime from a position of “Hyperspace”! Consider the advantages of looking from above! Map points should be considered as linear visual relationships or vectors…they represent direction, distance and time.A crime scene provides information, that represents an event or incident that possess perceptual continua and associated psycho-geographic content.Sexual violent crimes of women and children ending in homicide are usually committed within a relatively short distance from the perpetrators anchor point. If the offender dumps the body, it’s a tactic to avoid capture by authorities.The homicide of women and children, as well as the perpetrator of a crime are related in time and place, the victim has a point of origin and destination. Neglecting the victim’s, intended destination in the overall analysis of the crime can be a serious mistake!

How the idea was generated: a line-of-sight (LOS) extending from the body dumpsite to the victim’s intended destination: Witt Elementary School.Recursive, fractal images reflected from one mirror to the next…more than just a metaphor!

Mirror- MirrorDistance is no obstacle for the mirror of the mind!

Using Polygon Drawing Tools, no needfor expensive software in “Google Earth” Rock Creek -Superior, Colorado

Parttridge Open Space Park Witt Elementary School

Simulating the Visual Field of a Crime An initial visual field incorporating the possible interior area of the perpetrator’s crime journey, as viewed from hyperspace . The Point of origin begins from the body dump site, the location of the victims backpack and finally the victim’s daily routine destination: Witt Elementary.

Body Dump Site

Location of Jessica’s

Back Pack

Witt Elementary School

A Tetrahedron Network: Symbolic of a Combinatorial Map of the killer’s Crime Journey

Polygon Rotation and Shape OverlapAligning Visual Fields for Analysis: The Answer is in the Triangles!

Austin Sigg Residence

Blue shape: Visual Vantage Point from Dump Site.

Yellow shape: Visual Vantage Point from Witt Elementary School

Isosceles Triangle? Close enough for a good guess!

Sigg Residence

In this drawing of line segments, the legs of the triangle (Red), essentiallythe left leg was modified, in that it was congruent with the right. That is,they should be the same length and angle. So that critical mid-points could be correctly determined. This was done to fix inherent line distortions

The Basic Foundation of the Geometric Visual Heuristic MethodThe dumpsite of a crime, is an attempt by the offender to avoid capture and lead authorities away from their lair, anchor point or perceived “safe haven.” In the mind set of the perpetrator, the return home can be an internal image or frame of reference. The internal visualization of any cognized image, has a reference frame, must be geometrically sensible, possess perceptual continua and are related temporally (time) to other events. Therefore, spatial temporal events of criminal activity are not just isolated occurrences, but events , which are related. Sigg’s sense of timing in committing his murderous crime, was exquisite, many have said “why was it possible, that no one saw him abduct Jessica Ridgeway! One might say, that it’s an example of that indeed “timing is everything,…however, “time is not a thing, but a relationship between things.” Therefore, the victim’s intended destination, the dumpsite of the body and any disposal of evidence by the perpetrator, are linked, perceptually, temporally, geometrically and geographically. These visual spatial attributes, are clearly marked out by the perpetrator and substantially evident in the abduction and murder of Jessica Ridgeway.

The selective attention process considered in this presentation,has a great deal to say about Jessica’s killer, Austin Reed Sigg.Selective attention, is a natural process of vision, which allows a person tofocus on relevant information or stimuli within the immediate environment and is accomplished through the saccadic movements of the human eye, however the eyes capacity for attention to detail, is restricted from 5 to 7 degrees at the fovea of the retina. It will move from point to point within a specific visual frame of reference. Depending on an individual’s physiological and mental state, for example, when a person is relaxed, they tend to be move aware of movement and detail within the environment, although under extreme conditions of stress, awareness to detail can be substantially reduced. The visual psychological processes associated with attention, is a complex and at times a controversial subject, even regarding what is meant by the term “attention”. Therefore , the working definition essential to the premise of this presentation, is as follows:

A significant problem, however, is that attention is so ubiquitous that it is unwieldy to study. We propose a taxonomy based on the types of information that attention operates over—the targets of attention. At the broadest level, the taxonomy distinguishes between external attention and internal attention. External attention refers to the selection and modulation of sensory information. External attention selects locations in space, points in time, or modality-specific input. Such perceptual dimensions, or object representations that integrate over space, time,And modality. Internal attention refers to the selection, modulation, and maintenance of internally generated information, such as task rules, responses, long-term memory, or working memory. Working memory, in particular, lies closest to the intersection between external and internal attention.”

“Attention is a core property of all perceptual and cognitive operations. Given limited capacity to process competing options, attentional mechanisms select, modulate, and sustain focus on information most relevant for behavior.

Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2011. 62:73–101The Annual Review of Psychology is online at psych.annualreviews.org

A Crude Schematic of the Geometric Visual Heuristic Approach(the Cyclopean Eye).

Circular shapes can be adjusted for surface areas and others can be added for other relevant locations. The geometry is inherent in any LOS computation.

The Fovea and Visual Axis: A model used for the construction of the Perpetrator’s Visual Frame of the Crime that indicate the probable direction of the offender’s Point of Origin and Destination. “The film of the eye, the retina, contains over a hundred million light-sensitive cells, the rods and cones, packed together like the chambers of a honeycomb. Near the center of the retina-in a small region called the fovea—there are a great number of cones and no rods. This region is responsible for the most precise vision and color vision.”

“Seeing the Light,” David Falk, Dieter Briill, David Stock, John Willy and Sons, Inc., 1986, pg 146.

Attention and Effort: Daniel Kahneman, 1973Eye movements and Vision Image- of the same picture showing how the eyes attend to specific features.

Attention and Effort: Daniel Kahneman, 1973

Eye movements and vision attending to features at a greater distance, than near point.

Again, eye movements focus on specific detail within a scene.

Finding a killer of children,could it be just a matter of perspective?Notice, that this line segment extends from the dump site to

the northeastern corner of the Walnut Grove neighborhood

subdivision .

Critical Mid-Points of visual Triangle – Line-of-Sight (LOS) from Witt Elementary School to Sigg residence

Prosecutors claim, that Austin Reed Sigg, planned his Crime,

was it actually a copy cat scenario?

Some might argue that violent entertainment media, could adversely influence human behavior and therefore has the capacity to promote criminal acts of violence: In the first Season, Episode 4 “Sabotage” of the television crime drama “Numb3rs” math genius Charlie Epps mentions that the Fibonacci numbers are found in the structure of crystals and the spiral of galaxies and a nautilus shell. In the TV series “Criminal Mind” agents of the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit are confronted by a serial killer who uses the Fibonacci sequence to determine the number of victims for each of his killing episodes. In this episode, character Dr. Reid notices the locations of the killings, lie on the graph of a Golden Spiral, and going to the center of the spiral allows Reid to determine , the location of the killer’s base of operations.

The Golden Rectangle and the Fibonacci SeriesIt’s clearly symmetric and a related factor!

Jesseca’s Residence

A coincidence? I don’t think so!What is the reason for this obvious geometric

relationship?

The Begging Questions!(1) For what reason is the geometry associated with this tragic crime relevant? (2) Does Austin Sigg’s crime journey have any relationship with the concept of cognitive maps?(3) Does this presentation demonstrate any factual support for the human visual system, as geometrically biased? And does it lend credence to using an optical ray heuristic, in the analysis of certain types of homicides? (4) The spatial configuration of a neighborhood, does it provide a consistent pattern of movement and subsequent behavior among residents within an urban setting? Is movement and behavior within this context predictable? (5) What is the possibility, that Austin Sigg, planned his crime using in someway, the application of the Golden Section and Fibonacci Sequence? (6) Does Austin Sigg’s crime reflect a ritualistic practice a kin to “Satanic Worship” or cult like behavior? (7) Was Austin Sigg and Jessica Ridgeway, both victims of their geography. and geometry of place.? (8) The geometric relationships shown in this crime, was it just a fluke, coincidental and not in any way based in reality?

If this crime was not planned, then what assumptions can be made about it’s occurrence? What we know: 1) At one time, Austin Sigg, attended the same school as Jessica Ridgeway, Witt Elementary, in Westminster, Colorado2) Austin and Jessica lived in the same subdivision in Westminster, Colorado.3) They both lived less than half a mile (in linear distance) from Witt Elementary School.4) It is reasonably certain, that Austin and Jessica visited or played at Chelsea Park, Kitner Lake and Stanley Lake in their neighborhood. Since they lived in the same subdivision, and these park locations were a short distance from their homes.5) Witt Elementary is the focal point - it was Jessica’s final destination in her daily and weekly routine. activity.

Could sophisticated mathematical algorithms and Geographic Profiling software, provide a final solution, in the apprehensionof a killer, who commits violent crimes against children?The Rossmo formula

The Rossmo approach, is not all that promising, in the analysis of a single incident violent crime when relevant data is significantly lacking. It’s major short coming, as with most Geographic Profiling software,. Unfortunately, its statistical results rely on a substantial amount of data for spatial algorithms to provide adequate and useful findings. However, such applications have shown to be more practical in the analysis of crimes involving auto theft, burglaries and assaults in well populated urban communities and in those neighborhood areas where the risk of assault are relatively high. But, a case involving a teenage murderer, such as Austin sigg. left much doubt, since his crime was atypical and was more commonly thought as a crime of a seasoned serial killer.

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“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.” Mark Twain