A man with a criminal background was charged with murder just hours after a former Iowa State University champion golfer turned up dead in a pond on a golf course.
Collin Daniel Richards, 22, who police said has no known address and, according to court records, was kicked out of his grandparents' house a year ago, was charged with first-degree murder in Celia Barquin Arozamena's stabbing death Monday.
Police found her body at Coldwater Links public golf course near Iowa State University in Ames, where she apparently went golfing alone Monday morning.
Richards purportedly made statements to an acquaintance recently "to the effect of having an urge to rape and kill a woman," according to a criminal complaint made public Tuesday.
Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds described the killing as "a random act of violence" during a brief court hearing for Richards Tuesday morning.
"The state believes him to be a flight risk, also believes him to be a danger to the community," Reynolds said during the hearing.
The judge granted her request to set bail at $5 million.
Richards appeared in court in shackles and made no statements. He was ordered to return to court Sept. 28 for a preliminary hearing.
Attorney Paul Rounds of the Story County Public Defender's Office was appointed to represent Richards.
"I hope people reserve judgment until after the trial," Rounds told ABC News when reached by phone, declining to comment further.
The slaying sent shockwaves from the nation's heartland to Barquin Arozamena's hometown of Reocín, Spain, where civic leaders joined residents in a moment of silence at noon on Tuesday. The Reocín City Council also declared three days of mourning for the young woman and released a statement condemning the "vile act" that took her life.
"She was a really hard-working girl who was deeply loved by the whole town," Reocín Mayor Pablo Diestro told the Spanish sports website Marca.com. "It's a tragedy. We can't believe it."
Cmdr. Geoff Huff, head of the Ames Police Department's criminal investigations division, said at a news conference Tuesday, "It's rare, obviously. It's still very troubling that something like this would happen in broad daylight in a community that is as safe as Ames is.”
He added: "It's an awful thing that's happened. I'm not sure what else I can say."
Barquin Arozamena, a native of Spain, was recently named Iowa State’s female athlete of the year.
She had turned pro this past spring after completing her college golfing career. Earlier this year, she qualified for the U.S. Women's Open in Alabama, one of the LPGA Tour's majors.
The Ames Police Department opened a suspicious death investigation Monday morning when golfers found Barquin Arozamena's cellphone, ball cap and golf bag on the ninth hole fairway of the golf course "with no one around it," according to a police statement.
Golfers had seen Barquin Arozamena on the golf course earlier but told police she had disappeared, prompting a search for her, officials said.
Officers were called to the golf course about 10:24 a.m. and found the woman's body a half-hour later in a pond near where her golf bag was discovered and determined she had been assaulted, according to the criminal complaint.
