Suspected N.M. Serial Killer Indicted in 1989 Murder of Author's Daughter

[Woody]

They're going to get you Eddie!

In the late 1980s, young women in Albuquerque feared for their
lives when a series of chilling murders swept the city.

University of New Mexico student Althea Oakley, 21, was stabbed
to death in June 1988 while walking home from an on-campus
party, according to the Albuquerque Police Department.

Months later, on Sept. 9, 1988, 13-year-old Stella Gonzales was
shot and killed while she walked near Tingley Beach with a
friend.

The violent killings stopped until 1989, when Kaitlyn Arquette
was fatally shot in the head while driving in downtown
Albuquerque.

After years of wondering who killed the three women, police
finally got a break in July 2021 when UNM police arrested 54-
year-old Paul Apodaca on a probation violation, according to the
Albuquerque Journal.

While he was in custody, police said, he confessed to killing
the three young women and raping numerous other women, KOB
reported.

Apodaca was homeless when he was arrested and told police about
his deep hatred for women, KRQE reports. He was convicted
previously in 1995 of raping his 14-year-old stepsister, KRQE
reported.

In August, a grand jury indicted Apodaca for Oakley's murder and
then in December for Gonzalez's slaying.

On Monday, he was indicted for Arquette's death, which drew
attention after her mother, I Know What You Did Last Summer
author Lois Duncan, worked tirelessly to find her daughter's
killer, hiring a private investigator and penning the non-
fiction book, Who Killed My Daughter?

"When Paul Apodaca shot my sister, he murdered my family,"
Kaitlyn's sister Kerry Arquette told KRQE in August 2021.

Kerry Arquette, who went on to become a criminologist because of
her sister's murder, told KRQE her mother fought for justice for
Kaitlyn until her death in 2016.

"She is here, and she is looking down," Kerry Arquette told KRQE
about her mother.

Police said Apodaca had been on authorities' radar for a while
and had information only the killer would know, KOAT reported.

"Paul Apodaca is a serial killer in our view and he picked his
victims seemingly at random, but they all shared one trait: They
were women," APD Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock said.

"They were women in vulnerable circumstances at the time who
were seemingly alone, and that was his only reason, opportunity
and his own perceived hatred of females at the time," Hartsock
said.

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Apodaca has yet to be officially charged for Arquette's murder.

His attorney, Nicholas Hart, did not immediately respond to
PEOPLE's request for comment, but he told the Albuquerque
Journal that his client seemed intoxicated and in need of
medical attention when he confessed to the murders.

"We look forward to the opportunity to show the Court and a jury
that Mr. Apodaca is not guilty of these allegations," Hart told
the Albuquerque Journal in an email.

Apodaca remains held in the Lea County Correctional Facility.

https://people.com/crime/suspected-serial-killer-indicted-in-
1989-murder-of-authors-daughter/