A man who confessed to at least two cold case murders will remain behind bars until he is tried for at least one of the murders.
Albuquerque Police said Paul Apodaca, 53, of Albuquerque, walked into the University of New Mexico police station earlier this summer and admitted to killing UNM student Althea Oakeley, 21, who was murdered 30 years ago, KRQE reported. Albuquerque police said Apodaca also confessed to the murder of Kaitlyn Arquette in 1989.
Despite the confessions, Apodaca plead not guilty when charged with Oakeley’s murder. Judge Cindy Leos ruled Apodaca is a danger to the community and will remain jailed while he awaits trial next September, “based on his history which includes eight felony convictions, seven of which are violent felonies,” Leos said, adding, “some of the allegations in the criminal complaint which aren’t just allegations but statements the defendant made during this investigation.”
Paul Apodaca
Apodaca told police he was working as a security guard on June 22, 1988, when he saw Oakeley walking from a fraternity party alone and followed her. Apodaca said he planned to rape her in the Lobo Parking Lot near Buena Vista, but stabbed her multiple times instead. She managed to reach a nearby home's doorstep where she collapsed and later died at a hospital, according to KRQE.
Police said Apodaca shot Arquette, an 18-year-old graduate of Highland High School, in the head on July 16, 1989, as she sat in her car in downtown Albuquerque. Apodaca has yet to be charged in that case though an investigation is underway.
Apodaca’s DNA is also linked to evidence in a cold case rape from 1992. Police said Apodaca also confessed to committing three rapes.