NEVADA — The man who pleaded guilty to murdering former Iowa State University golfer Celia Barquin Arozamena has written a note to a Story County judge to “show remorse” for his actions.
22-year-old Collin Richards pleaded guilty in June to Murder in the First Degree.
Arozamena was found in a pond near Coldwater Golf Links in Ames on September 17, 2018 with several stab wounds to the upper torso, head and neck. Later that day, police were approached by Richards, who appeared to have several fresh scratches to his face and a deep laceration on his left hand.
“…I want to show remorse for stripping a life from society,” Richards wrote in a letter submitted Tuesday. “I want the family and you to know I’m sorry. I also want you to know change is my mission, new life is my goal.”
A trial in Winnishiek County following a change of venue order had previously been scheduled for September in the case.
Richards will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole at his August 23 sentencing hearing.
