New Mexico man reportedly confesses to murder of author Lois Duncan's daughter 32 years later

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (TCD) -- A 53-year-old man reportedly confessed to killing three young women in the late 1980s, including author Lois Duncan’s daughter, Kaitlyn Arquette.

The Albuquerque Police Department announced Tuesday that Paul Raymond Apodaca was charged with an open count of murder for the death of 21-year-old Althea Oakeley. Jail records show Apodaca was arrested July 21 for violating his probation, and Albuquerque Police said he admitted he "had committed several murders and rapes in the 1980s and 1990s."

According to the Taos News, Oakeley attended a University of New Mexico fraternity party on the night of June 22, 1988. She reportedly got into a fight with her boyfriend and left. On her way home, she was stabbed and screamed for help. Oakeley died during surgery at the University of New Mexico Hospital, the Taos News reports.

Apodaca reportedly worked as a security aide at Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute, now Central New Mexico Community College. Apodaca reportedly told investigators he felt "anger" towards women. The Taos News reports when Apodaca saw Oakeley the night of her murder, she smiled at him.

According to KRQE-TV, Apodaca reportedly told investigators he attacked Oakeley because of "all the hatred that I had for women."

The Albuquerque Journal reports Apodaca also said he killed Arquette, whose mother wrote the famous book "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Arquette, who was 18 at the time of her death, was shot while driving home on July 16, 1989. Duncan died in 2016.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said in a press conference, "The Arquette case is one of the most infamous cold cases in Albuquerque history because of her mother’s high-profile books about the murder."

KRQE reports Apodaca has not been charged in Arquette’s death because they are working to confirm his confession. He has so far only been charged with Oakeley’s homicide.

Apodaca reportedly confessed to a third murder, but police have not shared details, the Albuquerque Journal reports. It reportedly occurred after Oakeley’s murder but before Arquette was killed.

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