A man has been charged with murder after a golf champion was found dead on a course in Ames, Iowa.
Spanish native Celia Barquin Arozamena won the European Ladies’ Amateur championship in July and was finishing her degree at Iowa State University.
The 22-year-old was found on the Coldwater Golf Course on Monday morning after golfers found a golf bag with no one around it.
Officers found her body “some distance away” and determined she had been assaulted. A cause of death has not been determined.
Collin Daniel Richards, 22, has been charged with first degree murder.
In a statement from the school, Iowa State’s women’s golf coach, Christie Martens, said: “We are all devastated. Celia was a beautiful person who was loved by all her teammates and friends. She loved Iowa State and was an outstanding representative for our school.”
The school’s director of athletics, Jamie Pollard, said in a release, “Celia had an infectious smile, a bubbly personality and anyone fortunate enough to know her was blessed.”