A homeless man has been charged in the murder of prominent Spanish golfer Celia Barquín Arozamena, who was found dead on an Iowa golf course.
Barquín, 22, won the European Ladies’ Amateur championship in July and was a top athlete at Iowa State University. She was found on Monday at the Coldwater Golf Links in the city of Ames, with several stab wounds to her head, neck and upper body, police say. Barquín is the second female student in Iowa to be killed in recent months. Police in the Iowa city said they had determined that Barquín died following an assault. Collin Daniel Richards, also 22, has been charged with first-degree murder, police say. He was ordered to be jailed on Tuesday.
Barquín was found on Monday in Ames, about 30 miles (50km) north of Des Moines, after police were called to investigate an unattended golf bag on the course early on Monday. “It’s still very troubling for something like this to happen in broad daylight in a community that is as safe as Ames is,” Police Cmdr Geoff Huff said at a news conference on Tuesday. Originally from Puente San Miguel in Spain, Barquín was finishing her degree in civil engineering this semester, the university said. During her time in the US, she rose to prominence as a young golfer and was named Iowa State Female Athlete of the Year. She had also missed the first few weeks of university life in Iowa while participating in the Youth Olympic Games in China.Photo Credit: Getty
