Centennial
Citizen
Arapahoe County, Colorado • Volume 11, Issue 49
October 26, 2012
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourcentennialnews.com
Police: Man killed mother Neighbors didn’t know ‘how bad things were’ Beverly Liggett loved her children, but hid struggles with son By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com
Hazmat specialists as well as members of the FBI, bomb squads and local law enforcement assemble Oct. 18 outside the Centennial home Ari Liggett shared with his 56-year-old mother. Investigators conducted a thorough search of the home after Liggett was arrested and police found the dismembered body of his mother. Photos by Deborah Grigsby
Son had previous trouble with law Liggett believed to have poisoned, dismembered his mom By Deborah Grigsby
dgrigsby@ourcoloradonews.com The Centennial man accused of killing his mother and dismembering her body made his second appearance in Arapahoe County District Court, advised of the charges against him including first-degree murder and vehicular eluding. Ari Misha Liggett, 24, thought to have poisoned his mother after being removed from her will, sat quietly Oct. 23, his long, dark hair concealing his face. Deputies arrested the former University of Colorado student Oct. 17 after finding body parts in the back of his vehicle. Family members reported Liggett and his 56-year-old mother, Beverly, missing from the home they shared in the 6200 block of East Peakview Avenue on Oct. 15 Sheriff’s deputies spotted the vehicle associated with the missing persons report as it drove through an adjacent neighborhood, but were unable to make contact. A Greenwood Village police officer saw the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but Liggett tried to elude police, crashing his vehicle at the intersection of East Orchard Road and South Dayton Street. Liggett then fled on foot, but was apprehended and taken into custody without further incident. The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that in an initial search of the home, investigators found potassium cyanide, a toxic chemical that can cause death. Court documents also indicate investigators found traces of blood, vomit,
and a handsaw and knife in the dishwasher. But concerns with Liggett’s behavior are not new. A January 2010 affidavit filed by Beverly Liggett in District Court paints a Liggett picture of a troubled young man who mixed chemicals in the backyard; had books on silencers; disliked Jews, although Jewish himself; and was “slightly obsessed with killing, racism and Hitler.” Beverly Liggett stated in the affidavit that she and her teenage daughter, Livie, were living in fear that Ari would kill them and that he had made statements in the past that he would “get rid of the family.” A modified rifle with a homemade silencing device was found in the home, and in February of that year, a package of potassium ferrocyanide was delivered to the home, addressed to the defendant. Liggett was arrested on March 26, 2010, and charged with possession of a dangerous weapon, appearing before
then Arapahoe County Judge Ethan Feldman. He pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and possession of a dangerous weapon. Court documents state he received a four-year deferred sentence and one year of probation. A mandatory protection order for the two women was issued by Arapahoe County in September 2010, and another for just Livie in July 2011. Liggett’s father, Ronald Liggett of Westminster, has gone on record with local media stating that his son is “mentally ill.” Neighbors who knew the victim said the family had aggressively tried to get the defendant help after his 2010 arrest, but “couldn’t find any place that would take him.” Unemployed, Ari Liggett lists his only source of income for the past 15 months as Social Security on his application for court-appointed counsel. Liggett’s next court appearance will be Dec. 19, when it will be determined whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to trial.
Neighbors who knew 56-year-old Beverly Liggett describe her as a natural beauty who was never judgmental, but who struggled quietly with the challenges of caring for her mentally ill son, the one who would eventually be accused of murdering her and dismembering her body. In a quiet, well-manicured Centennial neighborhood, Liggett, a registered nurse who had recently completed her degree, shared a modest home with her 24-yearold son Ari Liggett. A 2007 graduate of Cherry Creek High School who went on to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder, Ari was extremely intelligent, bright and always engaged in some kind of research, said neighbor Lisa Davis. But he was also sort of a loner who stayed inside. “I don’t think anyone knew how bad things were,” said Davis. “They both were very private, but when I did see Beverly it was only for a brief conversation in the driveway or over the fence.” Davis, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than a decade, said in her conversations with Beverly over the years she learned that Ari had been diagnosed with both a bipolar disorder and Asperger syndrome. “She loved her son very much and went out her way to protect him,” Davis said, “so much that she eventually gave her life for him.” Davis’ stepson, Kyle, attended school with Ari and also described him as smart, but with few friends. “He was just like any normal kid, just super quiet, that’s all,” said Kyle Davis. “I saw him at Chipotle about a month ago and said, `Hi, how ya doin’?’ and he’s like `Hi.’” Obviously shaken, neighbors say they knew too little too late. “I don’t think anyone could have ever imagined this,” said Lisa Davis. “I mean you don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy, but we didn’t know it was this bad … she hid it very well.” Davis added that after Ari was arrested in 2010, the family tried to get help for his condition, “but they couldn’t find a place Liggett continues on Page 12
In the early morning hours of Oct. 17, Ari Misha Liggett of Centennial crashed his car at the intersection of Orchard Road and South Dayton Avenue. After a brief foot chase, the 24-year-old Cherry Creek graduate was apprehended and arrested on suspicion of murder when police found the dismembered body of his mother in the back of his vehicle.
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