Female Golfer Murdered by Man Possessed with 'Urge to Rape & Kill'
Story County Sheriff
Collin Daniel Richards
AMES, IA — A celebrated former Iowa State golfing champion was found dead on a golf course on the morning of September 17, and a 22-year-old man is now in custody in connection with her killing.
Police booked Collin Daniel Richards on charges of first-degree murder after Celia Barquin Arozamena’s body was discovered at the Coldwater Links golf course in Ames, Iowa.
In a September 18 press conference, Commander Geoff Huff of the Ames Police Department said concerned golfers had called authorities the day before, at 10:24 A.M., to report a golf bag on the green near the ninth hole — but nobody was around.
Just after 11 A.M., he noted, “staff alerted officers to a body found in the water.”
Police identified the victim as 22-year-old Barquin Arozamena. She had been stabbed in the upper torso, head, and neck.
Detectives fanned out around the golf course, and Huff said they located a witness “who spoke of another individual living in the wooded area who had made statements about having an urge to rape and kill women.”
A police dog was then able to track a scent from the victim to the woods, where they located Richards about three hours after Barquin Arozamena’s body was found. The suspect had several fresh scratches on his face, and he attempted to hide a laceration on his left hand.
According to Huff, the alleged killer admitted to going to a residence to bathe at some point before he was caught. “The people at that location described Richards as disheveled; covered in blood, sand, and water,” he said.
Police later searched the tent Richards was camping in near the course and discovered bloodstained clothing and a knife.
Christie Martens, the Iowa State head women’s golf coach, said the murdered Cyclone sportswoman possessed a “passion for life” and was a “beautiful person who was loved by all her teammates and friends.”
The school’s president, Wendy Wintersteen, called the civil engineering major’s death “a terrible, tragic, senseless loss,” adding she was a “talented student-athlete and an acclaimed golfer with a bright future.”
Barquin Arozamena, who was originally from Puente San Miguel, Spain, made headlines at the university when she was honored as a 2018 Big-12 Golf Champion and an Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year.
The golfer was her school’s golf career leader in stroke average, and also held the distinctions of competing at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship in Oklahoma this past summer.
The slain golfer’s fellow ISU athletes will pay tribute to her at the school’s football game over the weekend.
Richards is currently being held without bond at the Story County Jail.
Watch Now:
Read more: Des Moines Register, Des Moines Register (2)
