Austin Sigg, the teen accused of kidnapping and killing 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway, is due in Jefferson County court Friday for a hearing that could take up most of the day.
Last week Sigg's attorneys filed 26 motions seeking to move the case out of Jefferson County, close it from the public and seeking separate trials for Jessica's death, the attack on a jogger, and the alleged discovery of child pornography in Sigg's home.
Sigg's attorneys have asked that the trial be moved out of Jefferson County, arguing that "massive" media coverage has jeopardized his right to a fair trial.
According to a report by The Denver Post, Sigg's attorneys are raising the question of whether police officers had properly explained his rights when they came to his home last October and obtained his confession.
During Friday's hearing, attorneys questioned Westminster Police Officer Albert Stutson, who was among the first officers to arrive at Sigg's home after his mother called to turn him in. Stutson said he'd advised Sigg of his rights after he arrived, and again with Sigg's mother present when he realized Sigg was only 17.
Sigg's attorneys have also raised the possibility of DNA contamination in court, arguing that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation had issued three "contamination memos" for DNA in both the cases of Jessica disappearance and the attempted kidnapping of the jogger.
Sigg has pleaded not guilty to charges that he kidnapped and dismembered Jessica's body, and that he attempted to kidnap a 22-year-old jogger months before Jessica's death around Westminster's Ketner Lake.
During a preliminary hearing earlier this year, prosecutors played back tape from the 911 call recording Sigg confessing to the crimes.
"I murdered Jessica Ridgeway, I have proof that I did," Sigg said on the recording. "I'm giving myself up completely, there will be no resistance whatsoever."
If he is convicted, Sigg could face life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years. Since Sigg was a minor at the time of the crime, he cannot face the death penalty.
The next hearing in the case has been set for July 10 and the trial is expected to begin Sept. 20.
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