Austin Sigg attorneys question DNA evidence in Jessica Ridgeway case

Austin Sigg (Provided by Jefferson County Sheriff)

GOLDEN Lawyers for the teenager accused of kidnapping, killing and dismembering 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway raised questions Friday about possible DNA contamination in the case.

Austin Sigg, who turned 18 in jail, is charged with 18 counts related to Jessica's death, as well as an attack on a jogger at Ketner Lake last Memorial Day weekend.

Four of the counts carry mandatory life sentences.

Sigg pleaded not guilty last month, over objections of his attorneys, who said they needed more time to consider a plea. At that same hearing last month, Judge Stephen Munsinger set a Sept. 20 start date for Sigg's trial, which is expected to last three weeks.

He and his attorneys appeared in a Jefferson County courtroom Friday for a hearing on several pre-trial motions, most filed by Sigg's defense team.

The hearing revealed that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued three "contamination memos" regarding DNA testing in the Ridgeway and jogger cases, and signaled what may be a defense strategy: challenging the reliability of DNA evidence in the case.

Mitch Ahnstedt, one of Sigg's attorneys, said in court that the contamination memos "call into question the reliability of the work that's been done" on the case.

Prosecutors put a CBI lab director on the witness stand to explain the process of DNA testing and analysis.

Kathleen Fetherston described the process, and brought with her some of the equipment used in DNA analysis.

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Austin Sigg attorneys question DNA evidence in Jessica Ridgeway case