Westminster Police on Friday say they recovered a 1-inch wooden cross while investigating the abduction and murder of 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway that they believe may help them find her killer.
Police released photographs of the cross that could have been worn on a necklace and may "become a pivotal piece of evidence that helps authorities identify and locate Jessica's killer," according to a press release issued Friday afternoon.
Police have confirmed the cross does not belong to the Ridgeway family, Westminster Police investigator Trevor Materasso said. He would not say where the cross was found.
They are asking for the public's help to find someone who may carry or wear this type of cross. They also would like to
know about anyone who has purchased or is known to have some association with this type of cross."Police are also looking for a local business that may sell these specific crosses," according to the release issued by Materasso.
In a case where information has been tightly controlled, any release of facts or news that could connect evidence to a suspect is significant.
On Thursday, the department issued a press release saying they believe the suspect in an attempted abduction over Memorial Day of a 22-year-old woman near Ketner Lake could be connected to Jessica's Oct. 5 abduction. The press release asked anyone with any more information about that May 28th crime to contact police.
That Memorial Day case has not been solved, but police say the attacker was a light-skinned male with medium build, 18 to 35 years old, with brown hair. He was wearing sunglasses with small frames and a navy blue ball cap.
The woman said about 1:15 p.m. on May 28 a man grabbed her from behind and tried to put a rag with a chemical smell
over her mouth. The woman escaped and called 911. Police used dogs to find the suspect but came up empty handed.Ketner Lake Open Space is about a half-mile from Jessica's home and just south of Witt Elementary School, where she was headed that Friday morning, though she never made it.
Jessica's body was recovered Oct. 10 from an Arvada open space about 7 miles from her Westminster home.
Police are not saying where they found the solid wood cross. The pendant is 1½ - inches tall by 1-inch wide. A hole for a necklace is drilled through the upper part and three vertical lines are etched into the crossbar with a zig-zag pattern carved into the opposite side.
Today, scientific advancements have made it possible to gather touch DNA evidence from something like a piece of jewelry, said Paul Ciolino, a private investigator from Chicago.
"The problem with DNA samples, you have to have something to compare it to," he said. "My guess is they tried to lift some DNA and didn't have luck. It depends on how long it was out in the environment."
Gregg McCrary, former FBI profiler from Virginia, said police obviously felt releasing the information about the cross wouldn't hurt their investigation.
"It's one of those things, you are always trying to weigh the value of releasing information and data to the public. You have to keep some stuff in house to filter out suspects."
McCrary said he is sure that the authorities conducted their own investigation into the cross — its origin, the significance of the marks and who could have owned one.
" I assume they have done all of that and it hasn't led them to where they want to be, and now they are eliciting help from the public," he said.
That could also have a backlash, he said. In cases where such little information has been released, people sometimes tend to overinterpret everything, he said.
If this was a satanic symbol, he said, some people would immediately connect the killing to devil worship. What does a Christian cross then represent, he wondered.
Jessica was last seen by her mother about 8:30 a.m. Oct. 5 when she left her home to meet a friend to walk to school in the Westminster neighborhood just south of Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport.
Police believe a stranger abducted her and the killer is still at-large.
Anyone with information has been asked to call the Westminster Police tip line at 303-658-4336 or email PDamberalert@cityofwestminster.us.
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367, jpmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jpmeyerdpost
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