Photo: NACHO CASARES/COE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
The man accused of killing an Iowa State University golf star allegedly had “an urge to rape and kill women,” police said.
Collin Daniel Richards, 22, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of Celia Barquin Arozamena, a civil engineering student from Spain who was the university’s Female Athlete of the Year.
Barquin Arozamena was found dead Monday at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, Ames Police Department Commander Geoff Huff said the 22-year-old golf star had suffered “stab wounds to the upper torso, head and neck.”
“It is really troubling that something like that would happen in broad daylight out in the middle of an area that is easily seen from a lot of locations,” Huff said. “It is extremely troubling.”
Huff said a motive for the slaying is unclear and there was no indication that Richards, who he described as homeless, knew Barquin Arozamena.
Huff also said that he didn’t know how long Richards may have been watching her.
“We don’t know how long he may have followed her,” he said.
EGA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
The investigation, he said, was ongoing and so far Richards is the only suspect in the slaying.
Huff said police had “encounters” with Richards in the past.
In a statement posted to Twitter, Iowa State University president Wendy Wintersteen described Barquin Arozamena as a “talented student athlete and an acclaimed golfer with a bright future.”
“Our hearts are with Celia’s family and friends as we grieve her passing,” she wrote. “It’s a terrible, tragic and senseless loss.”
AP/REX/Shutterstock
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.Police were called to the golf course at 10:24 a.m. Monday after golfers discovered a golf bag with no one around it. At around 11 a.m. golf club staff alerted police that they found Barquin Arozamena in a pond on the course, a distance away from her golf bag.
The man told police that he had been staying near Richards in a homeless camp in the woods near the golf course and that within the last several days Richards made a “statement to the effect of having an urge to rape and kill a woman,” according to the police statement.
A scent dog from the Boone Sheriff’s office was brought in and tracked the victim’s scent from where she was found to the camp where Richards was living.
Richards was taken to the police station where he told officers that he had gone to somebody’s house to bathe.
“The people at that location described Richards as disheveled and covered with blood, sand and water,” Huff said.
According to the probable cause statement, during a search of the campsite, officers discovered a black backpack and two pair of shorts with stains that tested positive for human blood.
A knife was also recovered in the area.
Richards made his first court appearance Tuesday. A judge set his bond at $5 million. Richards has not yet entered a plea.
His attorney Paul Rounds tells PEOPLE, “I just hope people keep an open mind till the matter proceeds to trial.”
A preliminary hearing is set for Sept. 28.
source: people.com
