Criminal Spatial Analysis of the abduction

And murder of Jessica Ridgeway

Presentation
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
Brantinghams Theory of an Offenders Criminal Target Search: A predators Strategy in
locating probable victims offering the least amount of risk and whos criminal behavior is
considered among criminologist as a rational decision making process.
Modified
Modified 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 victims purse is also stolen),
or in cases where an assault or theft of a victims 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/Profiler

CrimeStat v3.3

Predator

Dragnet

GeoProfiler

ESRI: Products



Statistically based
Software with the
capability of interfacing
with GIS Mapping
Programs:
ESRI ArcView 3.3
ArcGIS v. 11
MapInfo
Google Earth Pro
Statistical
Methodology:
Nearest Neighbor
Statistic, Regression
Analysis, Spatial
Autocorrelation
Geographic Information
Systems (GIS):
Example: Crime Mapping Software ArcGIS v10
Preliminary Crime Maps
Produced 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 Jessicas
home.October 2012

Austin Siggs Residence
Mother 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 Fact

1. 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 Jessicas 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 Jessicas back pack along with its
contents.

3. One essential location not considered in the investigation
of Jessicas 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 Siggs 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
vectorsthey 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, its 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 victims,
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 victims intended destination:
Witt Elementary School.
Recursive, fractal images reflected from
one mirror to the nextmore than just a
metaphor!
Mirror- Mirror
Distance is no obstacle
for the mirror of the mind!
Using Polygon Drawing Tools, no need
for 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
perpetrators 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
victims daily
routine destination:
Witt Elementary.
Body Dump Site
Witt Elementary School

A Tetrahedron Network: Symbolic of a
Combinatorial Map of the killers Crime Journey
Polygon Rotation and Shape Overlap
Aligning Visual Fields for Analysis:
The Answer is in the Triangles!

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), essentially
the 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 Method
The 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.

Siggs 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 its an example
of that indeed timing is everything,however, time is not a thing, but a relationship between
things.

Therefore, the victims 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 Jessicas killer, Austin Reed Sigg.
Selective attention, is a natural process of vision, which allows a person to
focus 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 individuals 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 overthe
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. 62:73101
The 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 Perpetrators Visual Frame of the Crime that indicate the
probable direction of the offenders 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
foveathere 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, 1973
Eye 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?
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
killers base of operations.
The Golden Rectangle and the Fibonacci Series
Its clearly symmetric and a related factor!
A coincidence? I dont 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 Siggs 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 Siggs 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 its
occurrence?
What we know:

1) At one time, Austin Sigg, attended the same school as Jessica Ridgeway,
Witt Elementary, in Westminster, Colorado

2) 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 Jessicas final destination
in her daily and weekly routine. activity.
Could sophisticated mathematical algorithms and Geographic Profiling
software, provide a final solution, in the apprehension
of 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. Its 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.
+
Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to
stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. Mark Twain