On a summer night in 1988, the life of Althea Oakley, a 21-year-old female student at the University of New Mexico, was tragically cut short. On June 22, after attending a party at a fraternity house on campus, she had an argument with her boyfriend and decided to walk home alone. As she made her way through the campus area, heading towards the residence she shared with her brother, her path crossed with a stranger full of rage.
Witnesses later recalled hearing screams, and Althea was discovered stabbed outside a home on Buena Vista Drive S.E. She succumbed to her injuries, leaving her family and the community of Taos, her hometown, devastated. For years, her case grew cold, a painful mystery with no suspects identified and no answers for her loved ones.
For over three decades, the investigation into Althea's murder remained stagnant, one of several chilling unsolved crimes that haunted Albuquerque. The silence was finally broken in July 2021, not by a new piece of evidence, but by a startling confession. Paul Apodaca, a 53-year-old man with a criminal history, was arrested by University of New Mexico police for a probation violation. While in custody, he began to speak of murders he had committed long ago. He was soon confessing to Albuquerque Police detectives, admitting that he was the one who had killed Althea Oakley that night in 1988.
Apodaca revealed that he had been working as a security aide at a nearby community college when he saw Althea walking. He told investigators that he harbored a deep-seated hatred for women, born from jealousy and resentment. He said his original intention was to rape her, but he stabbed her to death instead. His confession detailed a random, senseless act of violence against a woman he did not know. The break in the case was a bittersweet moment for Althea's family, who were notified of the arrest on what would have been her 55th birthday. Apodaca also confessed to killing two other young women, 18-year-old Kaitlyn Arquette in 1989 and 13-year-old Stella Gonzales in 1988, as well as several rapes. In January 2024, Paul Apodaca was sentenced to 45 years in prison, finally bringing a measure of justice to the families who had waited so long for answers.
