A month after Iowa State championship golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena was found dead on a golf course, court documents show that police have collected several pieces of evidence in connection with her murder, including three knives. The suspect, Collin Richards, is currently in jail on $5 million cash bond and is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges.
Investigators found knives that could match stab wounds
The new details of Barquin Arozamena’s Sept. 17 murder have come from recently released court documents, reviewed by the Des Moines Register, which contain information about possible murder weapons and Barquin Arozamena’s injuries.
Barquin Arozamena’s body was riddled with stab wounds when it was found. One warrant application reviewed by the Register included information about the location of some of her “gruesome” wounds, which were on her head, neck, left leg and upper torso. An autopsy found that her body had two different serration marks, and that her puncture wounds could have been made by a knife with a blade that’s four inches or longer.
The Register reported that the police have found three knives in connection to the murder. Two were found at the scene of a Sept. 20 garage fire, in a home that Richards broke into after the murder. Police say Richards showered there, and they collected physical evidence as well as DNA. Both knives they found had blades longer than four inches, and one was serrated. The third knife was found at a Richards-connected campsite, where they also collected two tents and several articles of clothing.
When Richards was first interviewed by police after the slaying, he had a fresh cut on his hand. According to the Register, investigators said that the serration on Richards’ cut was consistent with the serration on one of Barquin Arozamena’s wounds.
Suspect’s Facebook account could reveal more
While the police have already found evidence from at least a few of their search warrant applications, they’re reportedly still waiting for information from Facebook about Richards’ account. But investigators have found an account that they believe belongs to Richards. From the Register:
The social media account, which agents suggested belonged to him, showed a publicly viewable photo updated in July that depicted a comic of a person holding a filled coffee cup with a caption “let’s go commit a murder.” The person was depicted adding milk to the coffee with another caption that investigators said read “let’s contemplate a murder.”
According to an acquaintance, Richards said he had an “urge to rape and kill a woman” several days before the murder.
Trial set for January
Richards has been in jail since he was charged with Barquin Arozamena’s murder on Sept. 18, the day after her body was found. Richards, who is being represented by attorneys from the public defender’s office, submitted a written not guilty plea on Monday morning and waived his right to a speedy trial.
According to the Associated Press, District Judge Bethan Currie ruled that the trial will begin Jan. 15. If he’s convicted, Richards would face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher.
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