Paul Apodaca: Serial killer gets 45 years in prison after admitting to 'heinous' murders of 3 women

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO: A serial killer from New Mexico who was linked to multiple cold cases dating to the 1980s in Albuquerque was sentenced on Thursday, January 25 after pleading guilty.

Judge Cindy Leos sentenced Paul Apodaca to a minimum of 45 years in prison on charges of rape and murder. He was facing five charges and pleaded guilty to all of them, KOB reports. 

Paul Apodaca comes face to face with family members of victims 

Paul Apodaca, 55, was found guilty in the killings of Stella Gonzales, 13, Kaitlyn Arquette, 18 and Althea Oakeley, 21, cops said in a news release.

In a virtual court hearing on Thursday, January 25, Stella’s mother lashed out at the killer, KRQE reports.

She said, "You have no idea what you took from me,” adding “Since the day you killed her, there’s an emptiness in my heart that can never be filled. May God forgive me, but I hope you go to hell.” Apodaca, who said he lost his father to gun violence, cried. “I apologize with all my heart for the pain I’ve caused,” he said.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, who grew up knowing Oakeley’s family and shared the news about the arrest, reacted to the news of sentencing.

He said, "These heinous crimes haunted three families for more than 30 years, leaving behind a wake of pain and suffering," adding “I hope all the families can now move forward and find closure in a long-awaited resolution to their nightmare.”

What happened to Paul Apodaca's victims? 

Stella, Kaitlyn and Althea were killed between 1988 and 1989. Stella was walking with a friend along Central near Tingley Beach when Apodaca drove up and shot her to death in the early morning hours of September 9, 1988.

The Albuquerque Police Department states that on June 22, 1988, Althea, a University of New Mexico student, got into a fight with her boyfriend and was stabbed while walking home from a fraternity party.

Officers claimed that after becoming agitated, she went to the home she shared with her brother. She was discovered stabbed outside a house at 1320 Buena Vista Drive SE after witnesses heard her scream.

Prosecutors claim that in 1989, as Kaitlyn was driving close to Lomas and Broadway, Apodaca drove up next to her and fatally shot her.

The cases went cold for more than 30 years until Apodaca, arrested on a probation violation while homeless in July 2021, confessed to police. Authorities said he had no ties or connection to the victims but knew key details about each killing.

He was charged with first-degree murder in all three cases, authorities said.

According to, Duncan (mother of one of the victims) occasionally employed a private investigator and voiced strong criticism of the police inquiry into her daughter's death, according to Law & Crime. 

Pat Caristo, the private investigator, told KOB that Apodaca had been a suspect for a while and that he had spoken to the defendant in jail on other charges.