Staff Reporter
A SPANISH golfer has been ‘stabbed to death by a homeless man’.
Celia Barquin Arozamena, 22, was found dead in the pond of her university campus near central Iowa, in the US, after Colin Daniel Richards, also 22, allegedly killed her.
The so-called ‘drifter’ has been charged with first-degree murder.
Barquin was found on in a pond at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames, about 50 kilometres north of Des Moines.
Police found Barquin’s body with several stab wounds to her upper torso, head and neck.
A police dog tracked Barquin’s scent to a temporary camp along a creek near the golf course, where Richards had been living in a tent.
He was found with several fresh scratches on his face consistent with fighting, and a deep laceration in his left hand that he tried to conceal.
A friend of his told investigators that the suspect had said he had ‘an urge to rape and kill a woman’ while they were walking on a trail near the course.
Barquin was recently crowned the Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year.
The talented golfer, from Puente San Miguel, Spain, was finishing her civil engineering degree.
She was one of the most accomplished players in Cyclone golf history, the university said.
Head women’s golf coach Christie Martens said Barquin was ‘loved by all her teammates and friends’ and was an ‘outstanding representative of our school.’
“We will never forget her competitive drive to be the best and her passion for life,” Martens said.
